What to say
by Avelyn Lauren
Summary: Frank has a question but there is another mystery at hand that could completely make everything they are and that they have worked for fall apart at the very seams. Read Rivals and O' of all the Luck to understand part of this. NF
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Simon and Schuster and Stratmeyer Syndicate own them.

**Chapter 1**

There was silence as Frank paced around their parents living room not really knowing what he was going to say. "Frank you can stop pacing the floor now. You've been doing that for two hours now." Joe stepped into the living room where he could see a flat trek on the plush carpet.

"How am I supposed to ask her this?" Frank continued pacing running his hand through his hair.

Joe finally stood in Frank's way when he turned around. "Will you relax! You're not the first guy to propose to a woman and it's not your first proposal!" Joe stood steadfastly on place.

Joe watched Frank's face carefully. "I was trying not to think about her." Frank resumed his pacing. "Every time that I've become close to someone something happens to them."

"Frank this is Nancy that we're talking about. She's saved our butts a few times." Joe reminded him.

"I don't need to be reminded of that." He thought of all the times that they had worked together.

"Hey Frank, take it easy. You're going to mess up your hair before she gets here." The doorbell rang just as he said that. He looked nervously the direction of the door. Joe chuckled, "Go fix your hair Frank."

"Hey Joe, is Frank ready?" Joe looked her up and down. Her black dress complimented her figure in all the right places but wasn't too long to hide her great looking legs. He played with her hair that caressed her shoulders.

"He'll be down in a few minutes. You look great." Nancy blushed slightly when he pecked her on the cheek. "When was the last time he took out some place this nice?"

"I think about a year ago after that whole fiasco with Androa Newman." Nancy answered.

Joe grinned. He remembered some pretty torrid scenes that period of time. "Well if Frank wasn't in love with you year ago, he will be tonight." Fenton Hardy came down the stairs giving a whistle.

Nancy blushed to the roots. "Hey honey, get the camera!"

Laura hardy showed up on the steps of the house. "I'm so glad that he decided to get ready here." She gushed at the thought of the two going out tonight.

"Mom, Dad will you leave her…." He stopped right behind his mother.

Laura stepped out of her Frank's way so that he could go down the stairs. "Na…Nan… Nancy…"

His Dad chuckled at his reaction. "I think what my son means to say is that you look gorgeous tonight." Frank hadn't responded as of yet. Joe pushed him toward Nancy. His hands went around her waist and hers up to his torso and his mother caught the moment with the camera that had been ready for just such a moment.

"Umm… Frank, I think we need to go." Nancy whispered.

He blushed. "Yeah, maybe we should go." He grinned. He couldn't think of a time that he had been this tongue tied around her, Callie, or any other woman he had known.

"Just a minute Frank." He turned around. "Let's get a few pictures first."

"Now, hold Nancy." His father told him. Frank did as he was told wrapping his arms around her stomach and looking directly in her eyes. Nancy had her arms on his and looked at him with as much passion.

Joe smiled from the corner. "Frank, you are so gone." He whispered where only his mother could hear.

After a couple more pictures they were allowed to go. "Ouch, this one is going to smolder the computer screen." His dad had said looking at the second picture.

"you think that he will propose tonight."

"He took the ring with him tonight." Joe put in.

"He will if he can think straight tonight." His dad said. He remembered seeing Laura when he first was trying to propose to her. In fact he didn't get to propose to her until two weeks later after she had been kidnapped and he had managed to save her.

"Are you remembering your proposal to me?"

"Actually, yes I am. I can't believe that it was twenty six years now." He said. "Well I'll see you upstairs." He had a certain twinkle in his eyes.

Joe groaned. "I think that I'm going to go out to the movies."

"Have fun son." His mother laughed.

-N/F-

They were enjoying a nice evening eating but Frank was picking at his food more so than actually eating. "Frank, is something wrong?"

"Uhh, Nancy, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." His hand played with the box in his pocket.

"What is it Frank?"

"Nancy, will you…" The phone rang. Frank sighed. He answered his and Nancy's rang at the same time. "We're on our way." They said simultaneously.

-Joe-

Joe had just sat down to watch the previews of the movie that he had been wanting to watch when his phone rang. "Yes," he paused, "I'm on my way."

Joe pulled up in behind Nancy ant and Frank had parked. The crime scene was filled with cars and people that kept trying to beyond the tape. He showed his badge and gave his name.

"What's wrong?" Joe spoke behind Nancy.

There's been a murder." Nancy said.

Joe looked at her finger as she led him to where the body had been found. Evidently Frank hadn't gotten around to proposing when they got the call. "Who was killed?"

"Gray man's wife." He heard Frank coming up behind them.

"How?" Joe asked suddenly very alert.

"That's the thing, we aren't sure how." Nancy said.

"Agent Drew, we've found something." One of the officers called to her.

"What is it?"

a note saide on, "What goes around comes around."

"cryptic." Frank observed.

"Where is he?" Joe asked.

"I'm right here. I was on my way when they called me." Gray Man answered from behind.

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Okay I know that this is short. I hope that you enjoy it. I have to beg you not to kill me because I will not be able to update half as much as I like.


	2. Chapter 2

"Agent Drew, we've found something." One of the officers called to her.

"What is it?"

A note said on, "What goes around comes around."

"Cryptic." Frank observed.

"Where is he?" Joe asked.

"I'm right here. I was on my way when they called me." Gray Man answered from behind.

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jordi- I'm glad that you love the story. I think that the story is going to prove to be interesting.

Imakaladrygirl- I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I have school and work. It makes hard sometimes to update.

Drewnhardy- thanks.

Angelicox- He just might be.

Roswalyn- I'm working on it. If you want to get some of the back story you need to read O' of All the Luck and Rivals. I will be making references to them throughout the story.

Katie Janeway- I've updated and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the other. By the way, if you maim me there is no way I can type.

Marie- You'll just have to read the story to find the answer to that one.

Msnancydrew- You're right him being nervous around her is great. You can pester me all you like if I don't update fast enough for you. It lets me know that people are thinking about the story when I'm not working on it.

Lord Dreadnault- I hope that I can keep it interesting.

**Disclaimer: I don't own them! I merely have a lot of fun writing them!**

**Chapter 2**

"I was already on my way over when they called me." Gray Man said.

He couldn't look at the direction where his wife lay on the ground and he didn't know who had done this to her.

"Sir, can you confirm that this is your wife?"

He walked over his face pale at the look of his wife on a stretcher with a blanket over her face. "It's her." His voice was soft as if he couldn't hardly get the words out of his mouth.

"Sir, do you know who would do this? Do you have any enemies?" One of the detectives at the scene.

Not that I know of." He answered the officer when he saw Frank come up with his FBI badge.

"Special Agent Frank Hardy, we'll be taking over this case."

"You look a little overdressed for an investigation."

"I was having dinner with a friend, not that it's any of your business. Tell me what you have." He ordered.

"Well, there wasn't anything taken, she was getting ready to leave when she was killed with a bullet because she had her keys in her left hand. You came on the scene right after we did and we found that note on her."

"Thank you, you are dismissed." Frank turned from him.

Nancy walked up to him. "You seem a little tense."

"Yeah something is not right about this situation." He looked from Nancy to where Gray Man sat with his head in his hands. Almost all he could think about was that could be him some day. He forgot the fact that he was talking about an internationally known detective that was also officially a detective for the Chicago P.D.

"Frank, what's wrong?" Nancy asked placing her hand on his arm.

"Nothing Nan." Relaxing his jaw he followed her to where Gray Man was sitting.

"Sir, have you been working on anything lately?" Joe asked.

"Yes, an old unsolved case of mine that has made it's way back to me." He answered the trio that sat in front to him.

"What exactly was it?" After an hour of explaining what it was they concluded that they would keep it an option when they were working oin the case.

"Sir, are you wanting to stay here tonight or would you like to go elsewhere?" Nancy asked.

"I'll stay here tonight. I'll just stay in another room. What Gray man really wanted to do was give the house a good look over to see as to why his wife killed and how anyone got into the house. They had the best security locks that anyone could possibly get to protect their homes and their loved ones. It appeared that wasn't enough but then he did work for a top secret agency and it wasn't like they hadn't heard of cases like this.

"Sir, we'll stay so that we can help you look." Joe spoke for all of them.

Nancy looked down at her dress, shoes and hose that she really didn't want to sleep in. Frank was looking at his suit that he didn't want to sleep in. "We'll help Joe but you stay here and we will………"

She didn't finish what she was saying before Frank cut in, "be back in an hour."

She looked at him oddly. "Come on Nan. Joe you don't let anything happen to him." Joe nodded.

"Frank where are we going?"

"To the apartment. We can't sleep in the clothes that we are wearing." He answered keeping his eyes on the road. They were almost to the apartment when Frank asked, "Do you get a feeling that there is more to this mystery than either of us really know?"

"Yes, actually I do. I don't know what it is until we do some more investigating. I'd like to go over all of his old case files. We may be able to find something in there. Maybe some old partners, lovers, anything that will help us solve this. I can't think of any reason for them to kill her and not make sure that he was there unless they want to send him a message.

They both knew that was the case and it wasn't because just of what had happened. "Hey, Frank what were you going to ask me before we were called to the scene?"

"Nothing." Frank answered.

He hadn't forgotten about the little box that was in his pocket. He'd put it up but he would think before he tried asked her to marry him again. They had known each other for so long that it felt like the dating were just an extension of their relationship with added benefits. Of course, they had kept it secret with the exception of from their parents and friends because they knew that this could be used against them.

At the apartment they found a change of clothes for each of them and Joe before they headed back. Nancy called to check on Bess to make sure that they were all okay and make sure that the pregnant Bess hadn't gotten herself involved into any dangerous mysteries in the last two days. Bess was almost as good as she was at detecting. That didn't stop her from worrying or helping her friend. It didn't stop Bess's husband from getting into a fight with her because she was actually solving a case. Her husband at least came first for the most part and Nancy suspected that he helped her out quite a bit.

"Nancy, are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." She grabbed her overnight bag and followed Frank out the door.

Back at the house Joe and Gray Man were looking in every nook and cranny trying to find a clue as to who had killed Gray Man's wife. So far they had found nothing. They had found no signs of forced entry, the back door had been left open where they guy had escaped; at least they were assuming it was a guy. They weren't sure until they found more evidence.

"We're back!" Nancy's voice rang through the house. Joe could hear the bags being put on the couch in the sitting room.

"Find anything Joe."

"No sign of struggle, no sign of forced entry, no clues."

"Have you dusted for fingerprints?"

"No not yet. I was getting ready to do that. If we find anything we can send priority through our labs. We want to find out whoever this is." Gay Man entered the room still looking distraught and even more discouraged now. He knew that they didn't have long to find whoever it was that had decided to shoot his wife.

"Sir, we'd like to start going over your case files." Nancy requested hoping to help him. She knew that he wasn't going to letting his mind off of what they were doing. This investigation was going to the toll of him. She remembered the case that she and Frank had worked together a year ago. Androa Newman sure had them going for a while. The whole case hadn't gone over well, especially considering that it had a lot of personal ties to it. They almost didn't make it through just the nightmares.

After hours of going over case files Nancy stopped. She stretched her arms but she couldn't sleep right now. She looked around to notice that Gray Man was no longer in the room with them and she wasn't sure when he had left. The young woman went looking for her boss and found him in some kind of training room, much like a weight room but this was different because it had a long exercising pad. Behind it were weapons. Some she knew how to use, others she didn't. She eyed the weapons studying them but she couldn't tell you what all the weak points would be for each of the different weapons unless she actually used them.

Her hand went down a staff that looked like it had been well beat before she heard her boss behind her. "Interested in weapons, Nancy?"

Nancy nodded. She had never liked guns even now when she had to carry one she could think of one or two times that she had fired the gun. She had never shot to kill only to injure enough so that she could arrest them. He chuckled behind her. Her hand had strayed to the swords that were up just a little bit hire that were, of course, in sheathes. "Choose." She was ordered.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Choose a weapon. You need to stretch as do the boys but from what I can figure out they are still poring over files that are longer than my arm." She was surprised that he could chuckle at anything right now. The young woman didn't think that he had forgotten though. Nancy knew that there weren't a lot people interested in weapons other than guns for the most part.

She chose the staff that she had been touching just a few moments ago and blocked an attack that came from behind. "That's cheating you know." She turned gracefully to face her boss blocking another direct attack.

"Fighting in the field is never fair but then you know that." She pushed off his attack and sent a jab to the left side that he had left open.

Nice try." He blocked her left jab.

"How can you possibly do this when your wife just died?" She asked sending another blow his way before doing a back flip in order to avoid his weapon.

-Frank and Joe-

Frank looked up from the files and noticed that Nancy and Gray Man were not there. He got Joe's attention and they went to look for the other two.

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Okay I think that this is a good ending place for this chapter. It's a little longer than the last one and I promise that they will get longer it might take me a couple of chapters though. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Arigato and ja ne!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just have a lot of fun writing them.**

**Chapter 3**

I'm sure that you know that the bad guys wait for no one. They attack at will and don't care about your personal lives." He paused. "You should know that by now Nancy. You've been doing detective work for a lot longer than you have worked for me."

"I know this. My friends have been attacked, kidnapped, lost some and lost some that were very dear to me." With each word her attacks became fiercer and calculated managing to get a kick in his side.

"You're anger is good for a certain amount of time but you must remaining control at all times."

"What are you talking about?"

"You lose focus when you dwell in the past." He took a swing that she barely was able to duck.

"I'm trying to go forward.

"Sometimes you find trying to protect the ones you love and cherish you go backwards."

"Why do you tell me what I already know?"

"What you already know, sometimes you forget as a human. You are a woman, a net agent, a detective, and have incredible instincts. They will play on your vulnerabilities."

The fire in his eyes didn't stop him from pinning her to the wall. "That didn't answer my question.

"A reminder."

"They're the same things that a man must watch out for. Your wife was killed and yet you're still looking. I lost a good guy because my detective work put him second, Frank lost a fiancée and a baby, Joe has lost his first love, and yet we all keep doing this very thing."

"Yes, but you three make the greatest sacrifices." Gray man let her go.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Frank asked.

"Just getting a decent workout. He's a good challenge maybe you and Gray Man should have a go at it sometime." She suggested. Now that her head was clear she was going to sit down and try to find something about who had killed his wife. "You said that sometimes to protect the ones you love you must look into the past but not dwell in it. Who were your partners when you were younger? Who were your greatest enemies?"

"I'll pull out some more files for you. You guys go on into the den."

"Don't lose your heart Nancy." He watched her join the Frank's side. He hoped this wouldn't keep them apart.

"Frank what do you see here?" They had been going over the next set of files when Nancy had found this new set of information.

"What do you have?"

"His name is Michael Long and it appears that he betrayed the CIA in 1955." There was a picture in there that showed a young man with brown or black hair. You couldn't tell the color of his eyes because it was a black and white. Of course the jeans and casual unbuttoned shirt looked like they fit on the bad boy of the decade. This kind of reminded Nancy of the Fonze from Happy Days.

"Apparently they were supposed to be the best of friends and partners. They were the best team that had been put together solving more cases in their time than had ever been solved." Frank read over her shoulder.

"That's what it looks like. 'What goes around comes around.' It says here that Michael Long defected in 1958 but it doesn't go beyond that." Nancy said to the curious Joe that was looking over her other shoulder.

"Joe would you mind waking up Gray Man please."

"I don't think I want to."

"We have to." Frank put in.

"We need to get some sleep." Joe protested.

"Yes we do." They agreed.

Nancy awoke to smell something cooking in the air. The television was off and she knew it was on when she went to sleep last night. "Oh wait a minute…." She was securely being held down by something. Nancy tried to move her head but found herself buried in a well muscled chest. 'Frank came in and was watching the news with me.'

"Good morning, or should I say afternoon." Gray man came in with a couple of cups of coffee.

Frank only groaned, pulled Nancy closer and tried to bury himself on the couch. "Oh, Frank." Nancy whispered in his ears. "It's time to wake up." Frank's hands left her waist to pull her mouth toward his and kissed her softly. "As much as I enjoy this we have company and a case to solve." It really was the best way to wake up in the morning Nancy had discovered the few nights that they had fallen asleep watching a movie or something else of the sort. "Frank, our boss is watching." Nancy whispered.

Frank groaned quietly before he looked up beet red. "Sorry, Sir, I guess you didn't need to see that." Frank let Nancy go.

-Gray Man-

Eugene watched these two somewhat amused but sad. It was a position that he and his wife had once held. 'Oh, Mary, I miss you so much.' He smiled and looked away when Frank started kissing Nancy.

Frank looked up at him to see his boss glancing at them. He knew that in years to come he would laugh at this predicament right now though, there were too many memories. "Sorry sir I guess you didn't need to see that." Frank let Nancy go.

Nancy excused herself only a little embarrassed that they had been caught by their boss. What did they have to be embarrassed about? They were all adults.

Frank looked directly at his boss. "It's alright frank. Have you proposed to her yet?"

"No sir, I was getting ready to when we got the call about your wife."

"Don't wait too long to ask her. I almost lost my wife by waiting too long." He was sad as he said this.

"But sir, you did lose her that's why we're here. What if something were to happen to Nan, as did yours?" Frank ran his hands through his hair.

"I want to kill the guy that did this, the memories are too fresh and painful but I don't regret marrying her."

Joe walked in. "Nancy's on her way back." Frank could tell that Joe had been standing in the hall. "Don't worry we'll catch the guy who did this."

"Thank you, Joe."

-Nancy-

Nancy walked in to find the three men talking. "Come on guys. We need to eat breakfast."

Nancy picked at her eggs. "Sir, who is Michael Long?"

Eugene looked at the red haired, blue eyed woman. "Michael Long was my friend and first partner."

"What happened to him? His file was incomplete." Frank asked.

"It was a good agent gone bad. At the time we were still recovering from WWII. Our jobs were to keep up with any of the rumors having to do with the Soviet Union and the KGB. (look up when the CIA and KGB were started) We couldn't have anymore radical dictating commies leaders such as Hitler since had shot himself. (Look up info on Hitler's death and when) We each had our own informants on the political and the scientific front. We were by no means at the height of it though. That didn't happen until the 60's and into the 70's.

Anyways, Michael's cover was an arms dealer. It kept the doors open between him and one of his contacts that were in the states. It came out that there was a leak in our operation especially after senator McCarthy made his statement, 'that if you weren't for America then you were a commie lover. We eventually traced it to Michael. Apparently he and his informant were lovers and were exchanging top secret information about our respective countries. Some of the most sensitive information had been told to her and she was killed by me before she could pass it on to her people.

"What goes around comes around?" Nancy asked. "I think we've found your wife's murderer."

"He is supposed to be dead." The man answered.

"Dead men tell no tales. He is the only one that we've come up with that comes close to a note that makes sense." Frank replied to his worried boss.

"Alright let's look into where he would be but he is probably very much underground, especially if he's supposed to be dead." Joe said out loud.

"We'll start getting word out on the streets." They all pulled out their phone and started making the necessary phone calls.

The main phone was ringing in the process of all of this. "I know there is someone there. You should know that the same will happen to all of you very soon." The voice was sinister but had no tone and was casual about the whole comment.

A little while later Nancy was getting everybody something to drink when the phone rang once again. "hello," Nancy finished serving the tea.

"Detective Drew we have a Zulu Blue at the Fairchild Mansion."

"We'll be right there sir." Nancy turned and left he drinks in the kitchen. "Frank what kind of capacity does your plane have?"

"I think that it can hold 6 why?"

"We have a Zulu Blue at the Fairchild Mansion."

"I think that I should stay here with him so we can hunt down this guy." Joe said.

"That's fine. We'll call you when we get there.

-Frank and Nancy-

Two hours later they landed on the roof of the mansion. "You know that's pretty sad when you have to have a landing strip and a helicopter pad on your roof." Nancy said. I take it that they don't have to wait long to see who they want."

Frank smiled at Nancy's comment. Andrew S. Fairchild maybe one of the richest men in he US but sure would never be traced to the Network. "Elana, we're here." Frank said.

The funny thing about the young woman was that she may act like a spoiled brat most of the time but that is exactly what it was, an act. The girl was very adept in protecting herself. Her father had made sure of that from childhood and when she found out about what her father did she began to help here and there as well. Now her father not only had the Network to worry about but his daughter that had turned out to be a little daredevil when they had to work with her in the last couple of years. She was nothing like the spoiled brat that had first been presented to them several years ago.

Elana Fairchild showed up to open the door for them. "Glad you're here. Dad is in his office." Nancy and Frank looked around to see servants cleaning up broken glass, tipped power plants, and a couple of broken tables. Nancy cringed when she saw that his antique vases were destroyed. She knew that they were all one of a kind and he would never be able to get vases like it again.

"I'm glad that you two could make it. I'm sorry to hear about Eugene's wife. She was a wonderful woman." He paused while they took a seat.

"Sir, what happened here?" Nancy asked.

"Someone came in and tried to kill us and burn down our house. As you can see they didn't succeed on either front but they came close. I think that there is something bigger going on here than we originally thought."

"You don't say." Elana walked in.

"Where are we going?" Nancy asked.

"I need you to go to L.A. There's a contact there with some information. It seems some of your old arch enemies have made their way out as well as some of mine and Fairchild."

Nancy looked at the folder that he handed the two of them. "Michael Long, The Assassins (Secrets of the Nile), ex-CIA agent Carl Dubcheck (Process of Elimination), Robbie Macdonnel (Out of Control), the Haiduck; aka chuck Bascomb (Royal Revenge), and mr. Fairchild's evil twin brother (Lord Dreadnault's story) were all in this file. "Please don't tell me that I see a list of all the people that we have put behind bars." Nancy groaned.

Frank looked at her worried. "Why are they all working together?" He asked almost shocked. They had put these people behind bars when they were teenagers. They were a lot more experienced now but if all of these people got together and put together a plan; especially with an ex-CIA agent they were in trouble.

"I think that someone wants to shut us down." Elana said as she finished reading the report that her father handed her.

Elana, this is dangerous. You shouldn't be doing this. If something happens top you then there is no one to take over the Network."

"I don't take over the Network. You three have been groomed from the start to work as a triumviarate over the Network. I would be after you three but trust me. I don't want the job." Elana informed them. She ignored the scowl from her father.

"What?" Nancy asked. A little surprised.

"You three are next in line if something happens to any of us." Mr. Fairchild said to the two.

Both Frank and Nancy opened their mouths to say something but couldn't. "I overheard them talking about it after you guys rescued me from my evil uncle."

"I guess the saying is true. Walls have ears." Frank tried to joke.

The flight to L.A. went without a hitch. They landed perfectly, no bombs tried to make it's way to them, they didn't see anyone on the runway with the exception of the people that they had checked out and okayed, of course with the approval of Fairchild, seeing as it was his field. It was almost too perfect. This actually put them on edge more so than it would have otherwise.

"Frank, I think I saw something down this alleyway." Frank and Nancy went downt to see a skirmish in the darkest part of the alley. A ping went ricocheting all around them.

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Okay I promised a longer chapter. Here it is and I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get chapter 3 up for you to read. I have been having a lot of trouble with my internet here lately and really wish I wasn't. I'll talk to you later. Arigato and ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I only own this story line. I don't own the characters. Stratmeyer Syndicate owns the characters.**

**Chapter 4**

Nancy and Frank landed in L.A. without a problem. This case had them worried. How had all of their enemies been put together on the same case. How many people knew about the triumvirate? What were they after?

That was yet to be seen. They still had to meet their informant. The place was a little leery. Satellite pictures had shown that it was in a seedy part of town. "Hey Frank, I recognize t h is part of town. Haven't we been here before?

"I think we have and I don't much like it."

"There's too many places to spring a trap." They said the thought simultaneously. Nancy turned slightly read as they finished the statement and Frank gave a slight chuckle.

"No wonder people think that we are married." Frank turned onto the proper street. They stopped at a seedy bar.

Nancy looked at him. "If anyone does anything we are married," she informed him.

"Agreed," they both knew that she could take on about four or five men but they didn't want to get into a fight in here.

Heads turned when Nancy entered in with Frank. Frank placed his hand on the small of her back in hopes that the gesture would let people know that Nancy was his and his alone. "We'll have two beers please." Looking around at the grungy place Frank realized that they both looked out of place. Nancy was the only woman in here and he was of course where a pair of nice jeans and a designer shirt.

"It's a lovely day outside." A voice said behind them.

"I hear it's supposed to rain." Nancy countered, every muscle in her body tensing.

"Well I hear in San Francisco it will storm."

Frank had kept his hand on Nancy's back. "I hear that it's steaming there as well."

"Your wife might enjoy a boat trip on Lake Soho."

"Looks like we're headed to the lake." Frank playfully whispered in her ear.

They paid for their untouched beers and exited the room. "What do you suppose that Robbie Macdonell has to do with this? He was in love with George." Nancy finally voiced her answer.

"I don't know he's impulsive and he doesn't like to take orders from anybody. He's planned his revenge and almost had it before.

"If he's planning revenge then wouldn't try for all of us with the exception of Fairchild and Gray Man?" Nancy knew all of this information merely bouncing ideas around.

Frank merely nodded his agreement. "If that's the case then, wouldn't they have to have someone that had s something against Eugene?"

"They would. They would have no issue with taking him out. Michael Long seems to be our best bet." Frank agreed.

"We just.."

"..have to find out who his informant was." Frank finished.

Nancy nodded in agreement. "We also need to find out what name he is going by."

"If we use an age progression program we should be able to fairly come up with a picture of what he should look like." Frank was thinking out loud.

"Unless he's had plastic surgery." Nancy kept the line of thinking going.

"Let's hope not. It's not like we'd be able to go to the Soviet Union and talk to the doctors that they had back then. He defected in 1958." Frank continued.

Nancy took out her phone and started to make some phone calls. "Bess, can you get into the Soviet Union data base?"

"I don't know Nan, what's up?"

"Well there are actually two things that I need. We need an age progression picture done and to find out about the former KGB. One of the women around 1955-1958 was an informant for a former CIA agent."

"What are you into Nan?"

"Can't say but you and George have to keep safe. Something is up and I think it involves all of us."

"Alright Nan, we'll see about getting to the safe house." Bess knew that they wouldn't have been warned unless it was really important..

"I'll call someone to get the picture faxed to you." Nancy finished the call.

"Alright."

"I know Bess has picked up quite a few hacking skills but is she really that good."

"If she can't do it then she knows someone that can. The former KGB have a good open file from the time period that we need they were disbanded in 1991. They now have the FSB but that is a little on harder side to get into. I don't think that we need those particular files." Nancy said.

-Joe-

Joe went through the files again just in case they all missed something but he didn't really think that they had. They had gone through the files at least twice tpgether but he was looking for another lead beside Michael Long. There had to be something else here and there probably was but they didn't have clue what they were looking for.

"Hello," Joe answered his phone.

"Hey Joe," Frank spoke into the phone.

"Hey Frank you're not flying are you?"

"No Nancy is." Frank said with a chuckle.

"I'm surprised that you are gong to allow her to fly your plane." Joe looked at the file that was now trying to muddle his mind.

"She's not htat bad of a pilot and she actually enjoys flying. As long as she doesn't try anything while we are flying I'm alright."

"I take it your not in the cockpit. She'd do just because you said something like that."

"You're right."

"Have you asked her yet?"

"I didn't call you to discuss my love life. We are heading to San Francisco to take a comforting and relaxing sail on Lake Soho."

"Frank you're supposed to be working not..."

"Joe will you relax, we're following a lead. What do you have?"

"I have absolutely nothing. I'm going over these files again but I can't see anything that we've missed."

WE don't know what we're looking for." Frank reminded his brother.

"Hold on Frank." He switched to the other line, "Hardy," Joe answered.

"Well it seems that you remain busy. There's always danger afoot for you and the ones that you hold dear."

"Who is this?"

"What lies in the past but always is the ultimate fear?" The voice asked.

Joe felt a chill going down his spine for his vague and cryptic warning. There were few things that he feared. "Don't bother tracing this call. Finish talking to your brother. Oh and say hi to his soon to be fiancée."

Joe switched over to the other line. "Frank I just got a weird call that I have to check out. Oh and be careful. This guy knew far too much about us."

"I understand."

Joe hung up the phone and left the house. They weren't near the area. He hoped that they didn't imply that they were disturbing the dead. It seemed that people love to do that. At least the bad guys did. He never understood that. The drive lead to an extra plane that Frank had bought in case they had needed it. Joe had earned his pilots license soon after the plane had been bought. He was glad he had.

The flight had gone through without a problem but getting to the cemetery proved to be a problem. He decided to take the back way in as there were so many cars you wouldn't be able to get in to save your life. "Hey, Mr. Fairchild, I'm in Bayport right now. There was a strange phone call and I have to check something. I hope I'm wrong. I'm sorry you couldn't get to the phone."

Joe went to check out the grave h needed to see. "Hey, Iola, it seems that even in death people can't seem to leave you alone." He placed the flowers on her grave marker and started to feel around the ground to see if he could find anything but nothing was there. "I don't understand why they insinuated here. Why would they say a…"

"Mr. Hardy I was wondering if you were going to catch the hint. It seems that you can survive without your brother."

Joe turned around shocked at the voice. The person had a hat on that covered his hair but you coukld tell that he was an older man. "What do you want?"

"You want a clue; expect the unexpected for what goes around comes around." The man left but in his wake Joe heard some ticking that he didn't like the sound of.

-N/F-

"Frank I don't like this. These people know too much about us."

"I agree Nan," Frank had the boat going at an easy pace. "There's something wrong here. There's more going on than we know."

"You're right; Robbie Macdonnell is a wild card. It makes no sense to put him in this group. What purpose will he serve among ex CIA and terrorists? He's far too impulsive"

"I don't know Frank." Nancy looked out and if they weren't in the middle of this case she might have seen the beauty all around her. "Frank you hear that."

"Yeah but we checked the boat over for anything out of the ordinary."

"Maybe because there was nothing out of the ordinary." The discussion was a moot point. There was a huge explosion sending them and the boat debris flying all over the place.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry that I have taken so long to get this chapter up but I've had a babysitting job throughout most of the summer and I was working on trying to finish my story It's Time. I did finish it finally so when I am working on writing now I can concentrate on this one. Well for the most part. My college classes are getting ready to start up so I can't promise how often this will be updated. I hope I can do a lot more than I did last semester but if I can't you'll have to forgive me. Oh and can someone tell me what the Hardy's were working on when Iola had been killed. I know that she was killed in a car bombing and that both Chet and Joe were extremely crushed.


	5. Chapter 5

Joe went to check out the grave he needed to see. "Hey, Iola, it seems that even in death people can't seem to leave you alone." He placed the flowers on her grave marker and started to feel around the ground to see if he could find anything but nothing was there. "I don't understand why they insinuated here. Why would they say a…"

"Mr. Hardy I was wondering if you were going to catch the hint. It seems that you can survive without your brother."

Joe turned around shocked at the voice. The person had a hat on that covered his hair but you could tell that he was an older man. "What do you want?"

"You want a clue; expect the unexpected for what goes around comes around." The man left but in his wake Joe heard some ticking that he didn't like the sound of.

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"Maybe because there was nothing out of the ordinary." The discussion was a moot point. There was a huge explosion sending them and the boat debris flying all over the place.

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I have loved every one of your reviews and I am glad that you have enjoyed the chapters. Thank you for all your help with Iola's death. I look forward to writing the next chapter. Arigato and ja ne!

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just have a lot of fun writing them. I believe that Stratmeyer Syndicate owns them.**

**Chapter 5**

Joe looked around not seeing anything until he saw a darker hint of green that was almost the color of the grass. "This is Frank's area of expertise not mine." Joe muttered wishing that his brother was there. How were you supposed to know what wires to cut?

Joe dialed his brother hoping he could at least guide him through, "The subscriber you have dialed is either out of range or no longer in service." Joe looked at his phone that wasn't possible. They had been using network issued telephones. They couldn't be out of range. They were in trouble. The ticking brought him back and he took a close look at the bomb. He carefully made sure that he took off the top because he didn't want to set off the bomb and kill himself and everyone else in the cemetery. It would also exhume some of the people buried here.

Joe held his breath. The cover off had made the ticking grow louder and there were about four little wires in this little thing that was the size of a quarter. There was no timer or stop mechanism it looked like. Joe took his pen knife and scratched at the wires only to find that they were all copper. "Oh CRAP!" Joe yelled. The little bomb was going to explode and just as it did it sent him flying back so fast he didn't know what happened.

-N/F-

The debris all around them had brought other boaters their direction. The smoke had yet to clear bit he could hear them all coming. "Nancy!" Frank called out between coughs.

His lifejacket was scrunching up around his neck not helping much with the exception of keeping him afloat. "Hey you alright down there?" A voice called out.

The smoke was clearing up but all he saw was an orange bob. "Nancy!"

"Sir, can you climb the ladder?"

Frank desperately climbed the ladder all the while keeping a lookout for her red hair. "Nancy!" Frank called out even more desperately. He shouldn't be this worried about her. All he could do was look around again trying to find her. "My girlfriend is still out there. We have to find her."

Someone else scooped up the bobbing lifejacket. "Is this hers?"

Frank looked at it before he looked away. "Yes, it's hers." His mind quickly calculated all information. "Did anyone see anything?" He asked knowing that they hadn't.

"No, sir," they all agreed.

"Do you have diving gear on board?" One of them shook his head. "No sir we're on a lake."

Frank sighed as the local police motored up. "What happened here?"

An hour later Frank was relieved from questioning, the crime scene was marked off and they had a local clean up crew looking through the debris. Frank entered into the crime scene showing his FBI badge. "Who's in charge of this investigation?"

Frank once again showed his badge. "Yes, they'd told me you'd be coming."

"There was a young woman with me when the boat exploded. Is there any sign of her?" Frank looked at the lake.

"No sir, I'm afraid that we have found no sign of anyone else. We found this necklace on some of the debris." Frank studied the necklace carefully.

"Her father gave that to her for her last birthday." He paused for just a moment, "Have you combed the lake for her yet."

"No sir, we haven't been able to yet."

"Thank you detective. Notify me if you find anything."

The detective looked at the man walking away from him sensing more to the young man than what was said. The pain in his eyes had been almost unbearable but the agent wouldn't stop looking. He didn't want to be there when Agent Hardy found what or who he was looking for.

-Nancy-

Nancy found herself awake in a small cold room that was bare as a prison cell. There was a slight whirring sound in the left corner but she found that she couldn't move as she was tied down. "So I see you're awake." A cold chilling voice said.

She saw nothing on his face but a slight scar on his shadowed cheek. "Krieger, what are you doing here?"

"I'm keeping you looked up." The man was as calm as she remembered. She never remembered this man losing his cool even when he was taken to jail.

"So what gave me away?"

"You're the only one with that scar."

"Well Miss Drew, you're boyfriend isn't going to be finding you anytime soon. You feel how cold it is?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You're a hundred feet under the ocean."

"What! Are you crazy? What happens if the water crushes us?"

"It won't matter when this place collapses you will no longer exist."

Nancy felt the cold chill run down her spine. She was a hundred feet underground. How was she going to get out of here?

She's all yours. Have your fun while you can hotshot because it won't last long." There was more malice and venom in Krieger's voice than should have been. The shock was though who he was talking to…

-Joe-

Joe looked up and was spitting dirt out of his mouth. What was that bomb? Joe looked out at the ground around him. Something was wrong. It wasn't that he was all covered with dirt and not because there was dirt all over the place. He had been right the little bomb had actually blown six feet of dirt away. Joe thought back to when Iola had been buried. If he remembered correctly her coffin hadn't black. It was a maroon color.

This isn't possible." Joe frantically looked began to dig up the rest of her coffin with his hands.

"What are you doing sir?"

"I have to find something out." Joe frantically kept digging. He threw the dirt out feverishly trying to get to the coffin.

"Sir you have to stop."

Joe ignored them and pulled the lid open only to find that it was that there was an old mummified body with its arms crossed looked as if it had died in peace.

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Okay this is a short chapter but I hope that it is a good chapter. Again you will have to forgive me if I don't update the story fast enough. I am in school and am trying to concentrate only on it. I'll talk to you later. Arigato and ja ne!

Another note before I go to bed tonight. If you have taken the time to read The Fairchild Affair by Lord Dreadnault at

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	6. Chapter 6

"I have to find something out." Joe frantically kept digging. He threw the dirt out feverishly trying to get to the coffin.

"Sir you have to stop."

Joe ignored them and pulled the lid open only to find that it was that there was an old mummified body with its arms crossed looked as if it had died in peace.

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"It won't matter when this place collapses you will no longer exist."

Nancy felt the cold chill run down her spine. She was a hundred feet underground. How was she going to get out of here?

She's all yours. Have your fun while you can hotshot because it won't last long." There was more malice and venom in Krieger's voice than should have been. The shock was though who she was talking to…

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"No sir, we haven't been able to yet."

"Thank you detective. Notify me if you find anything."

The detective looked at the man walking away from him sensing more to the young man than what was said. The pain in his eyes had been almost unbearable but the agent wouldn't stop looking. He didn't want to be there when Agent Hardy found what or who he was looking for.

**Chapter 6**

Joe looked in shock at the mummified body that shouldn't be there, with its arms crossed as if they had died peacefully. I la had been blown to bits. Joe almost couldn't take it. It was as if people had been taunting them of the tragedies of their lives as they were trying to move on.

Joe heard a commotion coming his way but he paid little to no attention to I as he caught sight of another piece of paper. 'Intrigued yet? In two hours time head to the docks.' On the bottom of the note looked like it had been scratched.

"Joe!" A feminine voice finally caught his attention. Joe closed the lid before boosting himself out.

"Sir, you will be required down at the station."

Joe showed him his badge glaring at him. "This is part of a federal investigation. I need that body examined by the M.E. and a report sent to me."

The man bristled at Joes' orders. The boy was at least 40 years younger than him. He had no place doing this but he couldn't impede on a federal investigation.

"What are you doing here Elayna?"

"Father sent me to protect you."

Joe winced at that. "He needs protecting himself."

"Dad will be fine. He's been taking care of himself for years." Elayna reassured him.

"Come on we need to go to the docks." Joes started to lead her away.

-Frank-

Frank looked at his very wet phone. "Do you have a secure phone?" Frank asked the detective.

The detective pointed to the inner office. "Fairchild please." Frank requested after he had checked himself to make sure that the phone wasn't bugged. The office he had been directed to apparently was the detective's office but the detective had the place wired to the hilt. He had a camera in every room of the police station. Frank clicked through the different channels trying to keep an eye on everything himself as he waited for Fairchild to answer the phone.

"Hello Frank, Mr. Fairchild will not be able to come to the phone. Can I help you?"

"Who is this?" Frank asked staring in shock.

"I'm disappointed; you don't know who I am. I'll give you a clue, we've met before. You know you're girlfriend is quite pretty. Isn't her former fiancée the one that betrayed her? What happens if he does so again? What if she betrayed you to go back to him?"

The young detective felt his heart lurch when he heard that. Sure he had decided that he wasn't going to propose to her but hat in no way meant that he wanted anywhere near Nancy other than for a case. Frank kept a grim face as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"I want revenge and the pure pleasure of seeing you being tortured." There was a momentary pause that left Frank shivering at what would be said next. "The past can be brutal but what will the future be without those to carry on?" The phone was hung up. Frank blanched at that. What was the future? Did the reference have anything to do with Nancy? Was it their friends that had stuck with them all throughout the years? Frank paled to almost as white as a ghost when he thought the next one. "He's going after the kids." If Frank was right then who he was going after? Each one of them had a kid or two with the exception of him, Joe, Nancy and Ned.

-Fairchild mansion-

Eugene watched Andrew pace the floor, look at the chess board, move a pawn, and try to figure out exactly what was going on. Life was a chess game in the world of spies, secret agencies, and the bad guys. It was a question of what it was that they wanted. What is it that these people wanted? He was a strategist in many senses of the word mostly because his brother had been one from the time that they were little.

"What if this in partial is a distraction? What if they really want to take out the triumvirate but they want something else? What are the implications of this strategy?" Oh, Andrew Fairchild knew of the implications of this. If the triumvirate was taken out and his daughter chose not to take the leadership the Network would be no more, but that is not what they were trying to do. It was something else. It was something personal, a vendetta, a goal, a distraction, but who was the king here?

Frank Sinatra's _All the Way_ began to fill the room. Eugene looked at his phone. He had forgotten to change that song. It had been _their _song but she wasn't there to enjoy it anymore. "Hello," he flipped it setting the tracker.

"Eugene, missing your wife? They still haven't found out who killed her. If she had been with me this would have never happened you know."

"Michael, what do you want?"

"Oh I thought that we were friends until the end. Whatever happened to this childhood days that were so carefree? I place from the past might send you flying into a…" the phone was cut off.

"I see you're old partner has shown his hand."

"Yes, it seems though that there is more to it. Not only do they want the kids running after their past they also want us to as well." Gray Man looked ahead of him.

Another phone call rang through on the main line. "You killed him." A mechanical unemotional voice said.

-Nancy-

Nancy was shocked to see brown coal eyes looking at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm making sure that I don't come in second. You will not marry Frank."

"You are supposed to be on a case."

"Are you sure about that? Weren't you just sailing with your boyfriend?"

"I don't have to explain what we were doing to you! You would betray your country for whatever Krieger is offering you?"

"I'm sure that your boyfriend will find you if this place doesn't collapse first." The young man walked out leaving her to her thoughts and tears.

Nancy closed her eyes trying to not allow her eyes shed the tears that she wanted to cry. She wouldn't allow herself to cry while she worked on freeing her hands. Her mind thought back to the fight that had gone on between her and her boss when they were in his house.

"_I'm sure that you know that the bad guys wait for no one. They attack at will and don't care about your personal lives." He paused. "You should know that by now Nancy. You've been doing detective work for a lot longer than you have worked for me."_

"_I know this. My friends have been attacked, kidnapped, lost some and lost some that were very dear to me." With each word her attacks became fiercer and calculated managing to get a kick in his side._

"_You're anger is good for a certain amount of time but you must remaining control at all times."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You lose focus when you dwell in the past." He took a swing that she barely was able to duck._

"_I'm trying to go forward." _

"_Sometimes you find trying to protect the ones you love and cherish you go backwards."_

"_Why do you tell me what I already know?"_

"_What you already know, sometimes you forget as a human. You are a woman, a net agent, a detective, and have incredible instincts. They will play on your vulnerabilities." _

_The fire in his eyes didn't stop him from pinning her to the wall. "That didn't answer my question. _

"_A reminder."_

"_They're the same things that a man must watch out for. Your wife was killed and yet you're still looking. I lost a good guy because my detective work put him second, Frank lost a fiancée and a baby, Joe has lost his first love, and yet we all keep doing this very thing."_

"_Yes, but you three make the greatest sacrifices." Gray man let her go._

Nancy shivered. At the time she hadn't an idea how eerily close his words to all of this. Who was the bad guy here? What was the motive? Was everything as it seemed?

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Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know that it's been longer than I planned. I have been cry busy with school, work and studying but I am trying not to let this story slip too terribly far behind. If you find mistakes in here you will have to forgive me because I have to be at school in the morning and it's currently about 1:30.


	7. Chapter 7

The man bristled at Joes' orders. The boy was at least 40 years younger than him. He had no place doing this but he couldn't impede on a federal investigation.

"What are you doing here Elayna?"

"Father sent me to protect you."

Joe winced at that. "He needs protecting himself."

"Dad will be fine. He's been taking care of himself for years." Elayna reassured him.

"Come on we need to go to the docks." Joes started to lead her away.

"I want revenge and the pure pleasure of seeing you being tortured." There was a momentary pause that left Frank shivering at what would be said next. "The past can be brutal but what will the future be without those to carry on?" The phone was hung up. Frank blanched at that. What was the future? Did the reference have anything to do with Nancy? Was it their friends that had stuck with them all throughout the years? Frank paled to almost as white as a ghost when he thought the next one. "He's going after the kids." If Frank was right then who he was going after? Each one of them had a kid or two with the exception of him, Joe, Nancy and Ned.

"Michael, what do you want?"

"Oh I thought that we were friends until the end. Whatever happened to this childhood days that were so carefree? I place from the past might send you flying into a…" the phone was cut off.

"I see you're old partner has shown his hand."

"Yes, it seems though that there is more to it. Not only do they want the kids running after their past they also want us to as well." Gray Man looked ahead of him.

Another phone call rang through on the main line. "You killed him." A mechanical unemotional voice said.

"_They're the same things that a man must watch out for. Your wife was killed and yet you're still looking. I lost a good guy because my detective work put him second, Frank lost a fiancée and a baby, Joe has lost his first love, and yet we all keep doing this very thing."_

"_Yes, but you three make the greatest sacrifices." Gray man let her go._

Nancy shivered. At the time she hadn't an idea how eerily close his words to all of this. Who was the bad guy here? What was the motive? Was everything as it seemed?

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Stratmeyer Syndicate does. I hope you enjoy the reading.**

**Chapter 7**

Joe led Elayne away from the scene to a small private shop. "What's going on at your end?" Joe asked.

My dad called about an hour ago. You were right about Michael Long."

"I take it that he called?" Joe asked.

"Yes but Dad didn't say was said."

"Did they trace the call?" Joe knew the answer to that. They would have but they would have found nothing. Michael Long was ex-CIA.

Elayne didn't answer knowing the question was automatic for both of them. The silence was understood as she took the note from Joe's hand. Silence remained as they began to walk, the pier was right across the street from the. Wordlessly they separated. Things were just a bit strenuous due to the thought that this was another trap. Another game and it was irritating.

Joe looked all around them trying to find anything on the ground. Everything was normal. There were no discolorations anywhere. They wood didn't change colors; the ground had only one color and no signs of anything that didn't belong on a dock. Elayne shook her head not finding anything.

"My, my Mr. Hardy, you're sure on edge. You should relax. I see you brought your girlfriend along." Joe turned his blue eyes away from Elayne

"Chuck Bascomb you should have received life for what you did."

"I had some DVD's saved up for a rainy day." Te man gave an airy confident smile.

"Those DVD's must have had some interesting contents."

"Oh they did."

"We're not here for a friendly chat. What do you want?" Elayne looked at him.

"I like her. She kind of reminds my of your brother's girl. You know the ring he bought her was absolutely gorgeous. It's too bad she'll never get to wear it."

"Joe's eyes flashed so fast that Elayne had to jump on him to keep him from attacking. Joe was easy to bait because of his temper though he had brought it under control through the years.

Bascomb's eyes laughed. "I see you haven't lost all of your fire. Remember to expect the unexpected." Elayne released Joe as they went to try to get him but the two knew Bascomb's tactics and that he wouldn't be able to get to him.

-Frank-

"_I want revenge and the pure pleasure of seeing you being tortured." There was a momentary pause that left Frank shivering at what would be said next. "The past can be brutal but what will the future be without those to carry on?" The phone was hung up. Frank blanched at that. What was the future? Did the reference have anything to do with Nancy? Was it their friends that had stuck with them all throughout the years? Frank paled to almost as white as a ghost when he thought the next one. "He's going after the kids." If Frank was right then who he was going after? Each one of them had a kid or two with the exception of him, Joe, Nancy and Ned. _

Which of the kids were they going to go after? Frank didn't have a clue but he knew that Bess and George were in safe house. Well they were supposed to be anyways.

"I'm tired of this game." He sent a text message to one of his colleagues and friends.

-Nancy-

Nancy's hands were now freed and she was ready to make a move when the door was opened. What she didn't anticipate was having him look to the wall and pin her there in such a position that she wouldn't be able to move. "Now, now Nancy, we wouldn't want something terrible to happen to you would we?" She looked in Ned's eyes before he pressed himself to her and kissed her.

Nancy had finally been able to free her hands and pushed him away. "Tell me do you ever think about the time that we stayed in ski cabin in Colorado?"

"Yes, I believe we were snowed in." Ned answered her trying to push her up against the wall.

Nancy however was not entirely defenseless. She knew that she had to get out of there. She had heard the building that they were on had started to creak. How they had gotten this far under she didn't know but it didn't matter in the slightest. "I'm sure that we can find another one after we get out of here." Nancy ran her hands down his chest quietly.

"That would be possible." He whispered in her ear.

"Well let's do that."

They found a submarine that would lead to the river apparently as he navigated. "So where would you like to go after all of this is over?"

"I don't know; why don't you tell me who you are?" Nancy asked.

The submarine was on automatic when he looked at her surprised. "You don't recognize your ex?"

"Oh you look like him, but you're about a 2 inches shorter than he is. You're chest is not quite broad enough, he would never force himself on me and last but not least, Ned and I were never stuck in a ski cabin snowed in. It was Frank and I that were in that situation. If you were truly Ned you would have known that. Now when we get back you will be answering some questions of your own."

The Ned look a like turned around shocked. He couldn't turn them around because they were in a river leading to the lake that she was kidnapped from. He would have to try to get away but he doubted it. The woman looked furious and it didn't matter that he was paid to get rid of her.

In the process Nancy had found his phone and sent a text to Fairchild followed by trying to get a hold of Frank. Frank hadn't answered his phone but she didn't really expect him to. They broke surface to find that the shore was empty. There had been people there though.

Nancy also knew that it would look strange to have anything pop out of the water so they had used the cover of some trees. "Let's go." She ordered him before he turned on her grabbing her neck.

"I'm not going to the Penn," he stated as he tried to choke her but felt Nancy kick him in his manhood.

"You'll get worse than that." Nancy found a cab and went down to the police station using her identification demanding one of the interrogation rooms.

"You're going to answer some questions now." Nancy stood behind him as some police officers showed up.

-The Fairchild Mansion-

Andrew Fairchild looked at the chess board before he knocked out the pawn with the knight. "They've made a tactical mistake."

"They may have sir but we still have to follow the lead they gave." Fairchild heard his phone beep for a received message. "We have the person that will be able to do that. We can't leave our positions."

-Someplace else-

"Sir it seems that things haven't completely gone on as planned."

"I am well aware of that. You're not paid to state the obvious. You are paid to keep them going the direction that I want them."

"Yes, sir." The man left the room.

"Apparently my old and new friends have improved through time. Well it should be an entertaining game." The man moved a bishop positioning two moves away from a check.

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Gomen for taking so long to get this out. I hope that I will be forgiven for the lapse in time but I was trying to concentrate on school. That was a busy term. I'm glad that I finished the term. I hope to have more chapters up before long.


	8. Chapter 8

The Ned look a like turned around shocked. He couldn't turn them around because they were in a river leading to the lake that she was kidnapped from. He would have to try to get away but he doubted it. The woman looked furious and it didn't matter that he was paid to get rid of her.

In the process Nancy had found his phone and sent a text to Fairchild followed by trying to get a hold of Frank. Frank hadn't answered his phone but she didn't really expect him to. They broke surface to find that the shore was empty. There had been people there though.

Nancy also knew that it would look strange to have anything pop out of the water so they had used the cover of some trees. "Let's go." She ordered him before he turned on her grabbing her neck.

"I'm not going to the Penn," he stated as he tried to choke her but felt Nancy kick him in his manhood.

"You'll get worse than that." Nancy found a cab and went down to the police station using her identification demanding one of the interrogation rooms.

"You're going to answer some questions now." Nancy stood behind him as some police officers showed up.

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-Frank-

"_I want revenge and the pure pleasure of seeing you being tortured." There was a momentary pause that left Frank shivering at what would be said next. "The past can be brutal but what will the future be without those to carry on?" The phone was hung up. Frank blanched at that. What was the future? Did the reference have anything to do with Nancy? Was it their friends that had stuck with them all throughout the years? Frank paled to almost as white as a ghost when he thought the next one. "He's going after the kids." If Frank was right then who he was going after? Each one of them had a kid or two with the exception of him, Joe, Nancy and Ned. _

Which of the kids were they going to go after? Frank didn't have a clue but he knew that Bess and George were in safe house. Well they were supposed to be anyways.

"I'm tired of this game." He sent a text message to one of his colleagues and friends

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-

"We're not here for a friendly chat. What do you want?" Elayne looked at him.

"I like her. She kind of reminds my of your brother's girl. You know the ring he bought her was absolutely gorgeous. It's too bad she'll never get to wear it."

"Joe's eyes flashed so fast that Elayne had to jump on him to keep him from attacking. Joe was easy to bait because of his temper though he had brought it under control through the years.

Bascomb's eyes laughed. "I see you haven't lost all of your fire. Remember to expect the unexpected." Elayne released Joe as they went to try to get him but the two knew Bascomb's tactics and that he wouldn't be able to get to him.

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Stratmeyer Syndicate and Simon and Schuster own them. I only have fun writing them and the story plot as we all know is mine.**

This chapter is dedicated to Dean Parker who has been rather persistent in reminding me that I had another story to work on. I've been doing a lot of sewing projects of late.

**Chapter 8**

"You mind telling me what your real name is?" Nancy asked the man.

"My name is Ned Nickerson, I'm 27 and I work for the same people that you do."

"If you were Ned Nickerson I'd know. Remember I used to date him. That wasn't too hard to find out. We've been in the papers for years."

"My name is Ned Nickerson." The man stubbornly said.

"Alright Ned, let's see of we can get a little more complicated, what were you hired to do?"

"I was hired to kill you." There was a predatory gleam in his eyes as Ned smirked at her.

"I already figured that part out. What else?"

"He never said anything else."

"You know Nancy I wouldn't mind taking you out sometime."

"You and most of the criminal population." Nancy answered across the room. He wasn't going to answer the questions. That wasn't what he meant but that is where it would probably end up.

She was buzzed out of the room. On look down the corridor and she saw why. "Frank?" She asked quietly.

Frank touched her cheek as if to check to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "Did they hurt you?"

"No I'm in the middle of an interrogation right now. Do you have any pictures on you? Frank pulled the pictures from the briefcase.

"Thank you she whispered when she touched his cheek. She couldn't kiss him right now.

The interrogation room was beckoning for her attention. Nancy stood at the door collecting her thoughts before she entered the room. "Can you identify this man?" It was a picture of Krieger.

He didn't answer but she kept pictures in front o him. The picture of Krieger had been put aside because she already knew that he knew who it was. "You know you were doing so well earlier." Nancy walked in front of him. "You know I can let it out that you told us everything you knew. You won't even be able to survive in the jail. They'll get you even in there." Nancy observed the fear in his eyes.

Nancy waited, "Listen I don't know anything. I was given a number to call."

"What's the number?" She accepted the file she was handed through the door. "Well let's see Randal Dunlap," She glanced through the file. "You have quite the rap sheet. What's the number?" She asked again.

"Ronald Dunlap looked at her. Nancy's blue eyes stared straight at him waiting for an answer. "You will have nothing to fear if you don't answer my question. You might wish that you only had to worry about them though." The threat was underlying what could happen and left his imagination to run. That left him almost feeling like shrinking into nothing.

"834…." He started to give out the number.

-Frank-

"_I want revenge and the pure pleasure of seeing you being tortured." There was a momentary pause that left Frank shivering at what would be said next. "The past can be brutal but what will the future be without those to carry on?" _

The text message was sent to make sure that their friends were in the safe house. It had been set up by them when they had decided to go into detecting professionally. No one was supposed to know about it but the one other person. He hoped that it had been right to tell this person about it.

In the meantime though there were all of their other friends that had kids. "I think that I'd better start making sure that they get into their safe houses."

'_You've reached ----------. Leave a message after the…'_

"Frank what's up?"

"Not much." Frank answered. "How are the flowers?"

"The flowers are blossoming very well." Chet answered.

"I was wondering if you could check on some flowers for the front garden of the house that I was looking to buy as a gift for Nancy's wedding present?" Frank requested.

"Sure I can. I was going to go there anyways soon." Chet answered cautiously.

-Chet-

Chet hung up the phone and picked up the phone that Frank had given him for just such an occasion as this. He started dialing as he began explaining to his wife what was going on. The three children that they had had just come in from playing outside. "You guys want to go looking at houses?"

It had been a hobby that he had taken to when he started to go into real estate for the fun of it. The children nodded eagerly as they looked out the window for signs that said for sale in front of the house.

"What's up?" Someone answered the phone knowing the number was not to be used unless for emergencies.

"It's time." Was all Chet said as he hung up the phone and looked for one house that he needed. It had been fortified by Chet and Frank for just such an occasion as this. They had hoped that they would never have to use it but as everyone knew it was likely that they would.

-Frank-

Frank had just finished making his call when he received a call from the police station. "Yes," Frank answered.

"She's here." The detective said over the phone.

"I'm on my way." Frank answered.

"Where is she Frank demanded as he walked into the precinct?

"She's in the interrogation room." The detective greeted him. "Did you want me to get her?"

Frank only glared at the man with his brown eyes. "Alright." He held his hands as if afraid of the veiled threat in Frank's eyes. He knew that Agent Hardy wasn't going to be happy unless he was sure that she was safe. The detective led him to the corridor and buzzed Nancy out of the room.

Frank watched her silently when she noticed that he was there. The simple touch of her hand on his cheek wasn't enough when she was near him right now. He needed to know that she was very much alive and not hurt but he couldn't distract her from what she was doing right now.

Frank touched her cheek as if to check to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "Did they hurt you?"

"No I'm in the middle of an interrogation right now. Do you have any pictures on you? Frank pulled the pictures from the briefcase.

"Thank you she whispered when she touched his cheek." Frank watched as she reentered the room and joined the detective at the window. "When are you going to marry her?"

"I'd put her in danger." He never took his eyes off of her.

"She's already knee deep in danger. You'd only protect her more." The detective answered. He'd seen it before in himself when he was trying to keep from showing his emotions to his partner because he didn't want to put her in danger. The young agent didn't look at him. When he did his own research on these two he found that there were a lot of lives involved but didn't get much past their teen years. The two agents had apparently been doing detective work before they started their careers and they each had excellent cover jobs but he didn't buy the cover jobs as he had seen much more.

Frank thought about what he said as he watched and heard Nancy give a veiled threat to the guy. "You will have nothing to fear if you don't answer my question. You might wish that you only had to worry about them though."

"You know you two make it very hard for man like me that you two are just special agents of the FBI. I don't think anyone else would be fooled though." The detective walked away signaling the officers to be ready to take Ronald Dunlap of her hands.

Frank had made sure to hold the door open for them as she left the room with him in front of her but he didn't let her hand go past him without taking it. She glanced at him without question and stopped. Once Ronald Dunlap had been taken out of their sight Frank pulled her back into the room. Nancy had no time to protest when she heard the door close but felt Frank pressed very close to her and quickly close the distance between them.

Frank kissed her without abandon pinning her against the wall but Nancy didn't notice as one of his hands wandered all through her sides as if he was making sure she were all there and not injured in the slightest. There was passion that he had been holding back since the night that he had taken her out it seemed almost an eternity ago. Nancy couldn't remember the last time he had touched her like this or had even made her feel like she was going to explode if something else didn't happen. "Marry me?" He whispered as he led her into another soul searing, passionate, hot kiss.

"What?" She pulled out somewhat surprised by the question. It had almost been an unheard whisper. They were trying to catch their breath when the phone rang….

-Joe-

Joe was surprised that they had been able to get off the dock without an explosion or something else. _"I see you haven't lost all of your fire. Remember to expect the unexpected." _

Elayne walked behind him taking in the stiff frame that he carried and the way he kept looking all around him as if he was expecting something to happen. She knew she was worried because nothing had happened. That couldn't be a good thing.

Joe relax. They want us to be all jumpy but it only works if they let them get to us." Elayne touched his shoulder.

"I can't relax. Something is wrong and I can feel it but I don't know what it is." Joe could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up and that had never been a good thing.

"Let's get something to eat." She suggested knowing that neither of them had eaten in a while.

"Excuse me, I was asked to hand this to you." A boy on a bike handed him a note.

'_Night is day and day is night. Where do both happen at the same time no matter what the time of day? What to expect when the dark rains no one knows but excitement and thrills fill the time.'_

"What kind of clue is this?" Joe asked. The vagueness of this one was definitely the most frustrating of them.

"I hate being toyed with." Elayne read and reread the note.

The boy was gone. "Well there goes that lead." Joe muttered.

Elayne watched as Joe picked at his food. She had known him for years and this was the first time that she knew of that he hadn't flirted with any of the girls in the restaurant and hadn't wanted to eat. This case was really getting to him. That had almost never happened.

"Joe look, isn't that…"

Joe threw down his fork and ran out of the restaurant.

-Another place-

"YOU CAN'T GO!" A man yelled at his wife desperately trying to keep her there with them.

"I have to." A chain was started today and that means trouble. In the many years that they have been detecting they have never had to do that.

"What about out baby?"

"Our baby is going to be fine." I placed the milk in the fridge and I have been training for this since I started with the Agency." She looked at her husband. "You knew this was a risk when you chose to stay with me. You can defend our daughter just as well." She kissed her husband with everything that she had.

"Please come back." He watched her despairing at what could happen. He knew what this chain meant. There was trouble and it was big but he was the guy why was she the one trying to protect the world. He again felt inadequate to this woman that could be two completely different people.

"You ready."

"You sure you up to this? You just had a baby."

"I have to be; don't I? As long as I can remember they have never put the chain into use and we have all been in some pretty tight situations." The two women walked toward another that was joining them.

"How are your husbands taking this?"

"Not very well." The two girls answered simultaneously.

-Frank and Nancy-

"What?" She pulled out somewhat surprised by the question. It had almost been an unheard whisper. They were trying to catch their breath when the phone rang….

"You just get through beating yourself up from losing another fiancée? You won't have to worry much longer. You took all precautions but not enough to keep all your futures safe because I now have the most important in my grasp. The past though shall die and be forgotten." The electronic voice was saying but then there was a dial tone.

Frank was muttering a number of rather colorful phrases under his breath. "Frank they are toying with us." Nancy said. Frank was one of the coolest headed guys that she knew of.

"They think that I am dead. I have an idea."

-The Fairchild Mansion-

"Andrew I have a bad feeling about this." Eugene looked at his long time friend.

"I do too. They might not get what they want but this still won't end very well."

"Let me out there. These kids have no experience with these people."

"No not yet. The tide I believe is slightly turning to our benefit if they can figure out how to use it."

-

-

-

I hoe that you guys can forgive me for having taken so long to get this chapter out to you. I will try to have another up before school starts next Tuesday.


	9. Chapter 9

Frank kissed her without abandon pinning her against the wall but Nancy didn't notice as one of his hands wandered all through her sides as if he was making sure she were all there and not injured in the slightest. There was passion that he had been holding back since the night that he had taken her out it seemed almost an eternity ago. Nancy couldn't remember the last time he had touched her like this or had even made her feel like she was going to explode if something else didn't happen. "Marry me?" He whispered as he led her into another soul searing, passionate, hot kiss.

"What?" She pulled out somewhat surprised by the question. It had almost been an unheard whisper. They were trying to catch their breath when the phone rang….

-

"You just get through beating yourself up from losing another fiancée? You won't have to worry much longer. You took all precautions but not enough to keep all your futures safe because I now have the most important in my grasp. The past though shall die and be forgotten." The electronic voice was saying but then there was a dial tone.

Frank was muttering a number of rather colorful phrases under his breath. "Frank they are toying with us." Nancy said. Frank was one of the coolest headed guys that she knew of.

"They think that I am dead. I have an idea."

-

-

"YOU CAN'T GO!" A man yelled at his wife desperately trying to keep her there with them.

"I have to." A chain was started today and that means trouble. In the many years that they have been detecting they have never had to do that.

"What about our baby?"

"Our baby is going to be fine." I placed the milk in the fridge and I have been training for this since I started with the Agency." She looked at her husband. "You knew this was a risk when you chose to stay with me. You can defend our daughter just as well." She kissed her husband with everything that she had.

"Please come back." He watched her despairing at what could happen. He knew what this chain meant. There was trouble and it was big but he was the guy why was she the one trying to protect the world. He again felt inadequate to this woman that could be two completely different people.

"You ready."

"You sure you up to this? You just had a baby."

"I have to be; don't I? As long as I can remember they have never put the chain into use and we have all been in some pretty tight situations." The two women walked toward another that was joining them.

"How are your husbands taking this?"

-

-

-

"Excuse me, I was asked to hand this to you." A boy on a bike handed him a note.

'_Night is day and day is night. Where do both happen at the same time no matter what the time of day? What to expect when the dark rains no one knows but excitement and thrills fill the time.'_

"What kind of clue is this?" Joe asked. The vagueness of this one was definitely the most frustrating of them.

"I hate being toyed with." Elayne read and reread the note.

The boy was gone. "Well there goes that lead." Joe muttered.

Elayne watched as Joe picked at his food. She had known him for years and this was the first time that she knew of that he hadn't flirted with any of the girls in the restaurant and hadn't wanted to eat. This case was really getting to him. That had almost never happened.

"Joe look, isn't that…"

Joe threw down his fork and ran out of the restaurant.

-

-

Chet hung up the phone and picked up the phone that Frank had given him for just such an occasion as this. He started dialing as he began explaining to his wife what was going on. The three children that they had had just come in from playing outside. "You guys want to go looking at houses?"

It had been a hobby that he had taken to when he started to go into real estate for the fun of it. The children nodded eagerly as they looked out the window for signs that said for sale in front of the house.

"What's up?" Someone answered the phone knowing the number was not to be used unless for emergencies.

"It's time." Was all Chet said as he hung up the phone and looked for one house that he needed. It had been fortified by Chet and Frank for just such an occasion as this. They had hoped that they would never have to use it but as everyone knew it was likely that they would.

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I merely have fun writing them.**

**Chapter 9**

The three girls went to the car. "Did you switch the cars?"

"I've helped those two guys out enough to know how to go undercover. This is where you come in. We'll get the supplies after the call comes through.

The trio of women started to get their supplies when they received the call they were waiting for. "I see the chain has pulled you out of hiding Mrs. Laurel. The club you will need to go to is La Eternal Noche."

"Yes sir, I have one thing to ask." The short haired woman spoke up.

"What's that Mrs. Douglas?"

"Please keep an eye on our families."

"Already done." The man replied.

-

La Eternal Noche was the most upper class club that Mrs. Laurel had ever seen. Mrs. Williams the woman that had met the other two women stared at the front in amazement. "This place is amazing."

"It might be amazing but it's going to be very dangerous if they discover who we actually are." Mrs. Laurel checked in the mirror to make sure that her blond hair was properly primped, curled and placed. She had gone for the more natural bouncy curls that could make any man turn his head.

"It's a good thing that your husband can't see you right now."

"Let's hope that he doesn't." Mrs. Laurel whispered looking away from the mirror. Mrs. Williams looked at the three of them.

"Will you look at us? A fashion diva, sports fanatic and scholar all trying to help save the world from the unknown terrors."

"Hopefully we'll be able to get out of there before something goes wrong."

"Hey! You three can't go in there." One burly man stepped in front of the door.

"We merely need a job. We haven't been able to find work." Mrs. Laurel stood in front of the man.

"It doesn't matter in the slightest. They aren't looking for new people."

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Mrs. Laurel casually ran her hands up the man's arms. "Oh girls, you think that he is worthy to try all three of us. He definitely looks like he might be able to handle it."

"He might be able to but we would have to wait until after work to find out." Mrs. William ran her hands down his back giving his butt a squeeze.

Mrs. Douglas contemplated looking at his face. "I don't know girls he looks like he's about to pass out from all your attention."

"Let them in." A voice said from the shadows.

The burly man stepped out of the way and the three women stepped past him ever so slightly brushing up to him in suggestive ways of seduction. Down the hall they stepped into a large room with a bar set up in the middle. "You three want a job you'll have to show me what you can do." He sipped a brandy slowly and amused as he took in the three women. One of them looked very familiar to him. He just couldn't quite place her yet. Mrs. Williams put on a CD that she carried in her purse and the girls lined on the stage.

By the time they were through he had a dazed look in his eyes. He had never lost himself like that with three half naked women all lap dancing on him at various times. "You'll do. You will have to rest before the show tonight."

-

-

-

-Nancy-

"You remember the story right?" Ned nodded his head. He remembered alright and he didn't like the plan. It stunk.

"I know that my bosses will see right though this story."

"We'll just see about that."

"If anything happens to her I'll make sure you rot in prison." Frank threatened.

He couldn't believe that they were going to give the guy a second chance. Frank knew that they hadn't been able to set Nancy up with any kind of surveillance equipment. He wanted nothing to happen to her. "How can I protect her when I know that they are after all of us?" Frank ran his hand through his hair.

Nancy followed Ned not losing him forming her own secret plan in her head. They had no idea what was going to happen but she had made sure that she had the necessary requirements.

-Frank-

"How are things going on your end Chet?"

"We're all safe. If necessary the tunnels will take us to the next safe house but hopefully it won't come to that." Chet answered as he watched his adopted daughter and wife of 3 months.

"You know what to do then." Frank hung up the phone.

The next phone call was to Joe whom he hadn't been able to talk to in a while. "Joe where are you?" Frank asked into the phone.

"We're in Bayport." Joe answered.

"Who are we?" Frank asked.

"Elayne and I are here."

"Good they don't have Elayne that means though that they have one other person. Everyone else is safe currently."

If hell could freeze over it just did after what Frank had just said. "Who's missing?"

"Amanda and Sam Fairchild." Frank answered not liking the answer anymore than his brother of Elayne.

-Joe-

"Joe looked into his phone a look of disbelief at what he had just heard. "You're kidding right?"

"No Joe I'm not. Have they given you any clues?"

"_'Night is day and day is night. Where do both happen at the same time no matter what the time of day? What to expect when the dark rains no one knows but excitement and thrills fill the time.'" _ Joe read the note to his brother.

"Joe have you checked the amusement park?"

Joe thought about the park that they had been visiting from the time that they were little children. "There isn't a ride there that has rain coming down." Joe finally said.

"The park opens in two weeks. One of the new rides is a water rollercoaster that goes through a dark cave that has drips of water coming down it." Frank told him.

"You would know this because?"

"I was doing security that day for them." Frank answered.

"How's Nancy doing?"

"She's fine."

"I'm sure she is. Have you given her any soul searing kisses?" Joe teased his brother.

Joe's answer came with a growl on the other end of the line saying that it was none of his business. The revelation shocked Joe to say the least. "What happened?"

If Frank were there he'd be at the open end of an intensely angry glare. "Nothing, she's alive." Frank hung up the phone not wanting to talk about it any longer.

Joe looked at the phone slightly surprised that his brother had hung up the phone on him. Elayne had watched the myriad of emotion that had crossed his face when he had asked Frank about the soul searing kiss. "He kissed her the way you were asking about didn't he?"

"Yes he did." Joe chuckled. "The last time I saw him give her a kiss like that was last year when we had to solve the case that happened around Bess's wedding."

"What happened then for that to happen?"

"I don't know."

"I think that I'm jealous." Elayne answered and looked away.

"Why would that be?"

"I don't think that I've ever even come close to finding that kind of emotion in a guy."

"What your Dad didn't allow you to date?"

"No it's not that. All of the guys were afraid of my bodyguards." At that Joe laughed loud and long at the predicament.

"What's so funny?" She glared at him.

"I'm sure that made school dances lousy." Joe said before he pulled her to him unexpectedly.

-The police station-

Several officers stood around the monitor that went around the interrogation room that Nancy had been using. There were hoots and hollers going on in there as if they were just a bunch of crazy teenagers. The couple of females awed when they saw what they were doing and were trying to usher the guys out of the room to give these two their privacy. Then the telephone rang making all of the hollering in the room stop.

"You just get through beating yourself up from losing another fiancée? You won't have to worry much longer. You took all precautions but not enough to keep all your futures safe because I now have the most important in my grasp. The past though shall die and be forgotten."

"There's trouble." There didn't have to be any orders given to open the door that locked automatically from the outside.

Frank and Nancy both had come out of the room not even looking like anything had happened with the exception of some ruffled hair. Frank went one direction while Nancy went the other one. There was going to be hell to pay for this group. "Mr. Fairchild have you heard anything on Amanda and Sam?" Frank asked into the phone.

"No I haven't Frank. They're not due back for a while."

"They're in trouble."

"Hold on Frank I have another call coming through." He paused switching the line.

"Ever wonder what happens when the future is threatened?" A voice asked.

"Plenty." Fairchild answered knocking a pawn out of the game.

"You will lose all that you love and then be in ruins."

"Did you get that call traced?" Eugene asked him.

"Yep." Andrew answered before going back to his phone call.

"Frank, be careful." Frank was warned before they turned off their phones.

"Let's go." Andrew grabbed his keys.

-Elayne and Joe-

They entered into the ride that Frank had told them about. It was dark and dank and they found hat they had to tread carefully as there was actually very little walking space. There was a river in the cave but they didn't stay on track of this. Apparently they had made this cave seem as real as possible giving it several different passages. It was dark and dank and the water that fell from the ceiling came down in streams. There was a stream of water that was coming through the tunnel that acted as a release that would send the water back to the top and continue the cycle. "This feels familiar." Joe muttered aloud.

"It should Mr. Hardy." A light came on around them nearly blinding them after having only used a pen light to get a round. In the corner were Amanda and Sam Fairchild.

"Carl Dubcheck number two I believe. What's the matter number 1 not able to take this job?"

"That old man died in the prison cell that placed him in. He wasn't very smart as you were able to figure out what was going on with the last case." Carl Dubcheck number two looked at him with cold eyes. "Come on let's see if you can get them and bring your girlfriend with you." Dubcheck ordered them.

When they stepped into the water there were dark shadows that started circling their feet.

-

-

-

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I can't say when I will get another one up because my classes will start up again tomorrow but I will try to keep up with this story.


	10. Chapter 10

-Joe and Elayne-

They entered into the ride that Frank had told them about. It was dark and dank and they found hat they had to tread carefully as there was actually very little walking space. There was a river in the cave but they didn't stay on track of this. Apparently they had made this cave seem as real as possible giving it several different passages. It was dark and dank and the water that fell from the ceiling came down in streams. There was a stream of water that was coming through the tunnel that acted as a release that would send the water back to the top and continue the cycle. "This feels familiar." Joe muttered aloud.

"It should Mr. Hardy." A light came on around them nearly blinding them after having only used a pen light to get a round. In the corner were Amanda and Sam Fairchild.

"Carl Dubcheck number two I believe. What's the matter number 1 not able to take this job?"

"That old man died in the prison cell that placed him in. He wasn't very smart as you were able to figure out what was going on with the last case." Carl Dubcheck number two looked at him with cold eyes. "Come on let's see if you can get them and bring your girlfriend with you." Dubcheck ordered them.

When they stepped into the water there were dark shadows that started circling their feet

-

-

-

-Fairchild Mansion-

"Ever wonder what happens when the future is threatened?" A voice asked.

"Plenty." Fairchild answered knocking a pawn out of the game.

"You will lose all that you love and then be in ruins."

"Did you get that call traced?" Eugene asked him.

"Yep," Andrew answered before going back to his phone call.

"Frank, be careful." Frank was warned before they turned off their phones.

"Let's go." Andrew grabbed his keys.

-

-

-

-Frank-

"Good they don't have Elayne that means though that they have one other person. Everyone else is safe currently."

If hell could freeze over it just did after what Frank had just said. "Who's missing?"

"Amanda and Sam Fairchild," Frank answered not liking the answer anymore than his brother or Elayne.

-

-

-

-The Police Station-

"You remember the story right?" Ned nodded his head. He remembered alright and he didn't like the plan. It stunk.

"I know that my bosses will see right though this story."

"We'll just see about that."

"If anything happens to her I'll make sure you rot in prison." Frank threatened.

He couldn't believe that they were going to give the guy a second chance. Frank knew that they hadn't been able to set Nancy up with any kind of surveillance equipment. He wanted nothing to happen to her. "How can I protect her when I know that they are after all of us?" Frank ran his hand through his hair.

-

-

-

-La Eternal Noche-

The burly man stepped out of the way and the three women stepped past him ever so slightly brushing up to him in suggestive ways of seduction. Down the hall they stepped into a large room with a bar set up in the middle. "You three want a job you'll have to show me what you can do." He sipped a brandy slowly and amused as he took in the three women. One of them looked very familiar to him. He just couldn't quite place her yet. Mrs. Williams put on a CD that she carried in her purse and the girls lined on the stage.

By the time they were through he had a dazed look in his eyes. He had never lost himself like that with three half naked women all lap dancing on him at various times. "You'll do. You will have to rest before the show tonight."

**Disclaimer: As we all know I only own the books but not the characters. Stratmeyer Syndicate and Simon and Schuster own the characters in her with the exception of mine or Lord Dreadnaults. I hope you enjoy this story and I'm very sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story. Between work and school there really is no time. When you take into account that there are characters all over the place here I have to be in front of my computer when I do this that makes it even harder. **

**Chapter 10**

There wasn't much time before the first show apparently. They had about an hour before it was too start and were given the guest rooms but the trio of women wasn't planning on being there for very long. That was the plan anyways.

"Ms. Douglas, I thought that I told you to rest." The man stood before her leaning against the wall. "You know we're going to have to come up with different names for you three."

The short haired woman gave him a winning smile. "How about you call me Vixen; Ms. Laurel, Phoenix; and Ms. Williams, Viper. That should bring in a good crowd shouldn't it?"

"I like it, now I was wondering if it would wear you out any to give me some of that lovely attention." Ms. Douglas smiled at him, in what she hoped to be a winning one. Seduction was never her area of expertise, although she knew how to do it.

"Hmm… I would have to think about that." She whispered silently in his ear running her hand down his chest. "Of course, after the show tonight." The boss gave a rather disappointed look before he walked away. He hadn't changed any. His gait was calm, self assured and done with a purpose and a location in mind. He was still taller than she with those blue eyes that were the color of the sky from the heather hills he was born in but they were cold. They were cold and calculating and that wasn't good. What had happened to turn a good man this way? His whole being she knew would be on vengeance.

"You know who she is right?" His brother came out of a hallway and joined him.

"I have an idea, although I don't know who the other two are."

"Well, what are we going to do about it?"

"I know what I'm going to do but you're not going to interfere this time. You almost killed her last time."

"You're going to jeopardize this whole operation for one woman?"

"No." The answer came before a door was shut in his face.

-Mrs. Laurel-

Mrs. Laurel looked down at her figure. She didn't have the right figure to be doing this right now. She needed to lose about 15 pounds but they needed her now. She couldn't be self conscious about what was going on and what she had to do. "We have trouble." A voice said through a door across the hall.

"Yes sir, I understand. We'll get it taken care of."

Mrs. Laurel drifted away from the area and made her way into the bar area. "Can I have a white wine spitzer please?"

The attendant looked the woman up and down. She was currently dressed in a short skirt and a halter top shirt. "I've never seen you here before. You're here to do a show tonight aren't you?"

"Sure am, what can you tell me about the clientele here?"

"Most of them are rich and they like the women here because they give a show that will make a man drool and forget his wife and/or his responsibilities. Some of them like to have a private showing behind closed doors. They are not allowed to do anything in the open like that."

Mrs. Laurel knew then that basically they were all sleaze balls looking for highly paid prostitutes but then again what did you expect. La Eternal Noche was a gentleman's club. The woman smiled taking her wine glass away from the bar.

-Mrs. Williams-

The office was just as good a place as any to look. Chances were though they wouldn't be likely to hide anything in there. Then again if you wanted to hide something you do it in plain sight or so it is believed. She carefully ruffled through the papers making sure that she placed them exactly how they were. On the desk there was a computer and in the drawers of the desk there was one that locked. Would these people never learn locked doors only drew people to want to know what was in there?

There was nothing on the desk just as she suspected but that locked drawer was the only thing that she hadn't gone through as of yet. She pulled out a disk that she had placed in the computer and hid it. It would do no good to have that found. She didn't have time though. Her internal system was going on red alert telling her that someone was coming down the hall.

There was a bathroom in here and she was hoping that there was a window there that she could escape from. With one last look around the room she made sure that everything was in place. Another man walked in with blond hair and sandy blue eyes.

"We have trouble."

"Yes sir, I understand. We'll get it taken care of."

"Yes I believe he said that they were going by the names of Viper, Phoenix and Vixen. That would be a great idea. We'll have the rooms set up for you." The sandy haired man hung up the phone.

-Joe and Elayne-

When they stepped into the water there were dark shadows that started circling their feet. "What's the matter afraid of a little water? This is better than our cave."

"Well at least you don't have to worry about scared boys now." Joe muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"No… just scared men." Elayne agreed while appreciating the fact that he tried to lighten the mood.

Amanda and Sam Fairchild watched in fear as they tried to cross the river or stream in the clearing to get to them. The dark shapes seemed to circle faster and to grow in size around their feet. Amanda didn't know what was in that river but this couldn't be good. This was supposed to be an amusement park but the only amusement that was happening was this 'Carl Dubcheck' character. Amanda caught a sign that Elayne made to her and understood immediately. She was going to have to move fast on say so.

"I wouldn't try anything now if I were you. This is your mother/best friend and your brother over here. Let me give you something that will keep your mind busy." Amanda and Sam were lifted off the ground left to dangle in mid air. Any movement the wrong way would hurt Sam who was only a six year old boy. A very resilient and bright one that she knew one day would make a wonderful agent if that is what he went into. "Now all you have to do is get them out of here before the mine train comes through. It'll be going so fast you won't know what hit them. Down the tunnel you could hear the said train coming but you couldn't see it yet. "Well if you guys survive this I hope you're ready for the next loving surprise. Dubcheck gave a laugh that sent shivers down their spines. The man walked away with all the arrogance that was probably due him.

The words had Joe and Elayne both looking to see what else was around them. It was dark though and their pen light was barely showing the shadows of whatever they were around their legs. "Joe, I think that one of them just wrapped itself around me." Elayne whispered.

"Try kicking it off."

"I don't think that's a good idea." As she tried to take another step it wrapped around her other leg so that she couldn't move.

"We're almost there." He encouraged her.

"I can't move." She whispered next to him.

"Hold still." He aimed the pen light the direction of her legs. The creatures were binding her legs even farther and the mine train was coming even closer but this time you could see it coming.

-Nancy and Ned-

Ned had his hands around Nancy's wrist as they entered a building. She had been blindfolded so that she couldn't' see where she was or what was going on. "You're late."

"We were busy." Ned replied leaving the implications to mean a hundred different things.

"Ah I see. Bring her in here I think that I want to have some fun of my own before I kill her."

There was a chair that was completely cushioned sitting in the middle of the room. "I like the chair. It looks entirely too comfortable for our guest."

"It might but we wouldn't want her to be anything else now would we." The words sent a shiver down her spine. She had no idea what they meant but she was going to find out soon enough.

"Ms. Drew, personally I'm surprised that you made it out alive but I can see why you did. Did you like your Ned's attention? He seems to have a thing for you."

"So it would seem." She agreed coolly but inside she was shaking. What was to happen next?

The chair they sat her in while it was cushioned felt like there were currents running just underneath all of her. The arms of the chair were metal and her hands were strapped down. "If you survive this love, Frank Hardy will never see you again." Ned whispered in her ear as he snapped the last lock into place.

"Well that's enough sweet nothings now. It's my turn."

"Now Ms. Drew let's see if you will answer some questions for me. If you're good then nothing will happen. If you're not well…." He left the sentence hanging.

"How about you crawl under the rock you came from?" Nancy asked.

"I wouldn't get to have any fun then now would I?" She could hear the man licking his lip in anticipation.

"Now, let's start with something easy. What's your name?"

Nancy remained silent. "We can't have that. If you can't answer that question then how can you answer the harder questions?" Nancy felt like her body had come to life all of a sudden as a jolt of electricity ran through her body. "Now, now we can't have you trying to get up can we?" Her waist was strapped down to the chair.

"What did you and our lovely Mr. Nickerson do while you were away so long? Did you have a long passionate kiss?"

Nancy spat in his face as she could smell his breath right on her ear. "Oh come now, we can't have that." The electrical currents were stronger this time as they ran through her body.

"Would you like a drink love?" Ned came up to her.

Nancy tried to turn her head away from him as he put the cup to her lips. "This will be good for you."

"Go screw yourself." She tried to not swallow whatever it was they gave her to drink. It lacked a taste or even a smell but it sure wasn't water. It burned as it went down her throat. "Now every time that you don't answer you'll get sip of this." Nancy had a vague idea what it was and this wasn't good. She had to keep all her faculties about her and she didn't drink very often.

"Now tell me the code to get into headquarters." Nancy was ordered and she still didn't answer.

"You must want another sip. You must still be very thirsty if you ask me." Her mind screamed no but she was not going to answer them no matter what they did to her. The burning liquid burned her throat once again. This time it was stronger and she didn't know how much of it that she could take. The electrical currents running through the chair were adamantly stronger this time as they left her whole body shaking. She was getting to the point where she wasn't going to be able to hold her faculties.

"What are the codes to get in?" She had to fight to keep from answering him this time opening her mouth and then shutting it.

"You must like the pleasure that is running throughout your body right now." Another drink was placed at her lips and at her refusal to swallow her head was tilted up so that her throat would automatically open. "I'm going to enjoy taking what's left of you."

Nancy felt water pour over her head as the electricity was turned up another notch. Nancy screamed as loud as she could at the pain that was running through her muddled brain and body. She began muttering something that they didn't quite hear.

"Well it seems that she has passed out from all of our fun." The two men laughed as her head hung down to her shoulder. "Nancy Drew you will ruin no more lives. When they find you, you'll be all washed up." The man said as they walked away. They didn't want to ruin all of their fun yet.

-Frank-

Frank felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise at the feeling that was in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. Something was happening to Nancy of that he was almost sure. He was going to kill this guy when he found him. It didn't help though that he hadn't heard from Joe, Elayne or anyone else for that matter.

Frank was pacing the floor waiting for a call to go through. He always hated waiting with a passion and these people were having a good time making him do so. "We found it." Someone finally came through the door.

"Are you sure that this is the person?" Frank asked. His suspicions had been confirmed as the guys file showed tendencies to be drunk and a gambler.

"Yeah."

"This is too easy, I think it's a setup but let's check him. I have one other person to check."

"Yes sir."

-Fairchild and Gray Man-

The call had triangulated at this point. Both men knew that from the computer hookup in the car. However they also knew it was a decoy. They wouldn't find anything here. Except….

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I think that I'll leave you guys hanging. That is if you guys are still reading. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. I hope to be working on another chapter tomorrow morning. I'm running on plenty of ideas first but if you have any then I am open to them. Well I'll talk to you later. R and R.


	11. Chapter 11

-Fairchild and Gray Man-

The call had triangulated at this point. Both men knew that from the computer hookup in the car. However they also knew it was a decoy. They wouldn't find anything here. Except….

-

-

-

-Frank-

"Are you sure that this is the person?" Frank asked. His suspicions had been confirmed as the guys file showed tendencies to be drunk and a gambler.

"Yeah."

"This is too easy, I think it's a setup but let's check him. I have one other person to check."

"Yes sir."

-

-

-

-Nancy and Ned-

Nancy felt water pour over her head as the electricity was turned up another notch. Nancy screamed as loud as she could at the pain that was running through her muddled brain and body. She began muttering something that they didn't quite hear.

"Well it seems that she has passed out from all of our fun." The two men laughed as her head hung down to her shoulder. "Nancy Drew you will ruin no more lives. When they find you, you'll be all washed up." The man said as they walked away. They didn't want to ruin all of their fun yet.

-  
-

-

-Joe and Elayne

"I wouldn't try anything now if I were you. This is your mother/best friend and your brother over here. Let me give you something that will keep your mind busy." Amanda and Sam were lifted off the ground left to dangle in mid air. Any movement the wrong way would hurt Sam who was only a six year old boy. A very resilient and bright one that she knew one day would make a wonderful agent if that is what he went into. "Now all you have to do is get them out of here before the mine train comes through. It'll be going so fast you won't know what hit them. Down the tunnel you could hear the said train coming but you couldn't see it yet. "Well if you guys survive this I hope you're ready for the next loving surprise. Dubcheck gave a laugh that sent shivers down their spines. The man walked away with all the arrogance that was probably due him.

-

"I can't move." She whispered next to him.

"Hold still." He aimed the pen light the direction of her legs. The creatures were binding her legs even farther and the mine train was coming even closer but this time you could see it coming.

-

-

-

La Eternal Noche-

"We have trouble."

"Yes sir, I understand. We'll get it taken care of."

"Yes I believe he said that they were going by the names of Viper, Phoenix and Vixen. That would be a great idea. We'll have the rooms set up for you." The sandy haired man hung up the phone.

-

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-

Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of torture throughout it. If the story needs a higher rating because of it then I will move it to M.

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I merely have fun writing them.**

**Chapter 11**

The Network will either fall or become stronger." Andrew Fairchild wished Eugene luck as they saw a man step out of the house. "Call me in an hour."

Gray Man knew precisely what he meant. He had one hour to get this settled and then reinforcements would come. "It's been a while old friend. How have you been doing?" There was a pause. "You know it's a shame, she was very beautiful."

Gray Man kept his cool. "That she was."

The man that killed her is already dead. I wouldn't have had her hurt."

"She wasn't yours to protect."

"So you didn't leave that note?" Gray Man followed him into the house and a training room.

"Oh I didn't say that." Gray Man chose a weapon that was sharp and deadly. "I see you have a chosen well." A sword was drawn.

-Joe and Elayne-

Joe's heart was beating in rapid erratic beats as he pulled out the knife he kept in his back pocket. "When I say jump we go together." Elayne nodded in understanding. There was a certain tension as he quickly cut at the creatures around her legs. One came up hissing with his head that expanded at Joe.

"What is that thing?"

"I don't know but try to kick them off when we jump." Joe was frantic. These things looked like they were poisonous. What was worse is that he had already irritated one just slightly. "NOW!" He ordered as they leaped up at the same time causing the rope to sway just enough to keep them from being taken out by the train coming through.

"Let's swing the way he left." Amanda ordered when they all joined together. The things around Elayne's legs had loosened to where they dangled in the air now but they still hung on. Elayne winced just slightly when they swung. They landed in a heap with all of them managing to protect Sam before they tried to stand.

"Mama is it over?" A little voice echoed through the cave.

Not yet Baby." She promised the boy.

"What happened to Thomas and Richard?" Elayne asked.

"They were shot while we were at the park." We weren't expecting an attack on us." Amanda shuddered at the thought.

"No we weren't but Frank figured knew after his clue was given to him. He tried to make sure that everyone was safe but he hadn't heard from you."

"Frank is a good choice to take over the Network."

"He can't do that alone though. I'm sure we don't know the full extents of the Network even as we speak there are unknown facets that Gray Man and Andrew Fairchild have yet to tell us. Joe looked one way then the other using the pen light that incredibly hadn't been broken after their land. Joe had purposely tried to fix it to where he would take the brunt of the fall. It had worked and he was going to be bruised for a couple of days.

"I don't like this." Joe whispered almost inaudibly when they were waling through the narrow passageway. They were close to the entrance and could feel the air draft and see the end of tunnel that would lead them out.

"You guys are just too smart for your own." A voice said as they walked right into a barrier that blocked them from walking. There was no one around but there was a tape recorder talking to them. Upon further inspection he found that they were in a box however it was double layered and the same purple gas that was used to kill the bamboo was filling out up the outer layer.

Elayne watched as Joe paled visibly at the sight of it. "What is that stuff?"

"Once this gas fills up the outer chamber and starts seeping in we're dead." Joe stated.

"No you don't get it. It only has to come in contact with your skin before it will drain the life out of you." Joe cut her off looking frantically for a way out of the thing.

-Frank-

Frank stepped into the office of the person that he suspected. This one had been too squeaky clean. He looked like the perfect citizen on paper but you know he had never found the perfect citizen. The desk was organized and the room lacked file cabinets so that this person evidently believed that computers would never go out or lacked the patience for enclosed spaces. The drawers were filled with basic office supplies and they held no papers in them. The computer beeped acknowledging that it had accepted his flash drive into the USB. He had two to three copies of everything whether they were hard copies, flash drives, floppy disks, or CD's.

The desk drew his attention. If you wanted to hide something you did it in plain sight, right. The folders held no information with the exception of current cases and the manila folders with just closed cases. Where did this guy keep all of his files at?

Something wasn't right anyways. These people knew too much about them and their personal lives. They had already checked all of their offices for bugs, beefed up all of their security, checked and double checked all personnel and then some. After all, these people wouldn't have any trouble finding anything about their teen years and their pasts. They had all been in the papers for many years.

His cell phone rang drawing his attention. He pilled out his flash drive and placed it in his pocket. "Alright bring him in but keep an eye out. These two have been set up."

A tall man just slightly taller than Frank with black hair and blue eyes entered in as Frank opened the door. "Who are you?" The man sputtered before he shook in recognition at Special Agent Frank Hardy. The guy was about to apologize when Frank ordered him to follow.

"Don't question what you're told. This will be done for your safety but once you get to safety you will be given a password and a name to use to protect yourself. Someone has been getting too much information on some of the agents' personal lives and they and their loved ones are in serious danger. We have not been able to find any bugs in any of the offices, on their persons or even their personnel. I want to know how they are doing this.

Frank watched as the man was lead away. He shouldn't be going through this! He should have to listen to Nancy talk nothing about wedding plans. That was normal! Did he propose to her in that interrogation room? He was certainly thinking he did. He was more concerned about making sure that she was alright. What was she doing right now? Was she alright? His gut told him that she wasn't. What would happen if he were to lose her? They had almost lost each other last year. Could they give up all of this for each other? It was a question feared and yet he knew that neither of them could. They may love solving mysteries but they didn't just do it for that reason. They did it to keep the streets safer. Why couldn't she be right here where she was safe?

"Agent Hardy, the phone's for you."

"I've got it thank you." The phone was held at his ear. "Hello."

"You sure are agonizing over something aren't you? You're girlfriend sure is something else. I'm surprised that she and Ned Nickerson survived that explosion. If she survives in one piece you can have what's left of her." A Spanish accented voice said into the earpiece.

"Who is this?" Frank demanded but all he received was a click of the phone. "Damn it!" His voice roared through the office as he dropped the phone nearly falling to his knees in despair.

-Nancy-

"Mi corazón, es hora de despertar." The rouge hand was unbelievably gentle on her face when she groaned her acknowledgement that she was doing just that. "Usted ha sido un parasito. La pregunta es, cual viene después?"

"A pest is one that refuses to go away, in this case Santiago." Nancy muttered. "Que sucedes después dependes de tu."

"Yes, it does depend on me." He said in a thick heavy accent in English. "I took Andrew Fairchild's brother's place in our organization y yo quiero en. El mundo nunca abra visto los gusto de mi siempre otra vez."

Nancy didn't respond when she felt a knife to her throat. "Tell me the password to get into the mansion and you might live." His voice whispered in her ear. "I guess we'll have to continue until you cave."

Nancy didn't know how much more her body could take but she wasn't giving in.

"You can go to hell." Nancy muttered.

"Oh and I will, in time." He promised her.

"You could save yourself from all of this. Why do you allow this?" Ned's voice whispered in her ear as she felt herself being released. Nancy one her legs were released kicked him in the ankle.

"Listen Princess, I have nothing to lose if you die or anyone else for that matter. If you don't want help then you keep fighting but right now you don't have the strength to do that." Ned pinned her legs down.

Nancy stopped fighting momentarily. This was a bad character. It wasn't her Ned. "You know the one thing I hate more than a woman being hurt is to see her crying. These people will use that to break you and you're rather entertaining. The voice wasn't sinister. It was soft and reassuring that she could trust him in at least this. Maybe it was the threat that Frank would hunt him down and kill him.

"Where do you want her?" Ned said as he appeared down the hallway.

"Chain her arms right there." In the center of the room there were chains set up. "She will tell us the location."

Ned chained her as commanded. Nancy's limp head hung down as if she could hardly hold it up. "Keep your head up." Ned whispered in her ear making it look like he had kissed her cheek.

Ned watched as they took a whip and started to slash her with it. He could feel Nancy's blue eyes piercing into him. If it was the only way she would be able to hold her head up. "How do we get in?" These people were persistent to say the least. They found every way they could to torture a person and it didn't matter that it was a woman. Ned Nickerson had been a fool. When Nancy gave a loud scream he jumped into action.

"That's enough!" He jumped into the way of the whip getting scratched on the cheek.

"Silence you fool. You were promised what was left of her after we were finished."

"You want answers but you're not going to get them this way out of her. You will kill her long before anything comes out of her mouth to help. Tell your boss that if you want answers I'll see if I can find something." Ned blocked the way to Nancy.

"You merely want your pleasure before she is dead." Ned turned to look at Nancy only to see that she could no longer hold her head up. Her clothes were torn in several places and her skin was red underneath.

"I'll see what I can get for you. I mean after all I'm just as selfish as the rest of the criminal population."

"We know who and what you are. If you try to help her or lie to us then you will be dead." Krieger walked out of the room to give Santiago the message.

Ned undid her chains carefully moving her in case there was a trap door there that would lead them to fall. He ripped her shirt off of her to see that her skin looked raw. Nancy caught a certain gleam in his eyes before her head rolled to the side. Ned looked over her carefully. Her bra was now staying up with one strap. The other one had snapped. The sleeves off of his shirt ripped soundly as he cleaned her wounds to the best of his ability.

-

Nancy came to sore and her hands tied behind her back. "Tu es despierto."

"Since you can't seem to tell me anything torturing you, let's see how you react to someone else being tortured. Before we start though…" Nancy felt a needle in her flesh. She looked down to see that she was shirtless and her pants were not in that great a condition right now.

"We've injected a new strain of truth serum in you. If you don't tell us the truth then we'll know." Krieger started the torture on Ned.

"This is what we will do. If you don't answer the question we're going to use the cat of nine tails." Nancy's eyes grew wide. That was what was used when Jesus was whipped and if she recalled correctly it had 5 sharp stones on each whip. The first crack of the whip gave a piercing whimper at what had to be 45 different welts coming to his body. The second had the man screaming.

"Stop." Nancy whispered.

They didn't hear her as they delighted in Ned's screams. "You're going to kill him!" She screamed.

"Tell us what we want to know." Nancy bowed her head in defeat.

-La Eternal Noche-

The girls were led down a hall to a room. Apparently they were to seduce one of the top clients. They chose their skimpiest looking clothes for the job. "Have fun ladies."

"Ah the entertainment is here. That's good because we have entertainment for the entertainment." The girls turned to where a curtain was being lifted. Six chairs sat before them and they each held their…

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I have had more trouble writing this chapter than anything that I have written in a long time as every time I would get onto the document for some reason it would not have saved properly. I have a question though. Can anyone tell me the name of Vanessa's parents or her maiden name?


	12. Chapter 12

"So you didn't leave that note?" Gray Man followed him into the house and a training room.

"Oh I didn't say that." Gray Man chose a weapon that was sharp and deadly. "I see you have a chosen well." A sword was drawn.

-

-

-

-Joe and Elayne-

"You guys are just too smart for your own." A voice said as they walked right into a barrier that blocked them from walking. There was no one around but there was a tape recorder talking to them. Upon further inspection he found that they were in a box however it was double layered and the same purple gas that was used to kill the bamboo was filling out up the outer layer.

Elayne watched as Joe paled visibly at the sight of it. "What is that stuff?"

"Once this gas fills up the outer chamber and starts seeping in we're dead." Joe stated. "No you don't get it. It only has to come in contact with your skin before it will drain the life out of you." Joe cut her off looking frantically for a way out of the thing before she said anything.

-

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-Frank-

"Agent Hardy, the phone's for you."

"I've got it thank you." The phone was held at his ear. "Hello."

"You sure are agonizing over something aren't you? You're girlfriend sure is something else. I'm surprised that she and Ned Nickerson survived that explosion. If she survives in one piece you can have what's left of her." A Spanish accented voice said into the earpiece.

"Who is this?" Frank demanded but all he received was a click of the phone. "Damn it!" His voice roared through the office as he dropped the phone nearly falling to his knees in despair.

-

-

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-Nancy-

"This is what we will do. If you don't answer the question we're going to use the cat of nine tails." Nancy's eyes grew wide. That was what was used when Jesus was whipped and if she recalled correctly it had 5 sharp stones on each whip. The first crack of the whip gave a piercing whimper at what had to be 45 different welts coming to his body. The second had the man screaming.

"Stop." Nancy whispered.

They didn't hear her as they delighted in Ned's screams. "You're going to kill him!" She screamed.

"Tell us what we want to know." Nancy bowed her head in defeat.

-

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-

-La Eternal Noche-

The girls were led down a hall to a room. Apparently they were to seduce one of the top clients. They chose their skimpiest looking clothes for the job. "Have fun ladies."

"Ah the entertainment is here. That's good because we have entertainment for the entertainment." The girls turned to where a curtain was being lifted. Six chairs sat before them and they each held their…

-

-

-

-La Eternal Noche-

The girls turned their heads to where a curtain was being lifted. Five chairs sat before them and they each held their tied up parents. "Why George I thought you'd be happy to see them."

The boss walked to her caressing her cheek. "Robbie Mac Donnell you're a bastard!" George seethed before she slapped the man.

Robbie MacDonnell jested. "Now, now you wouldn't want your parents hurt. You know it's a shame that we couldn't find your husband and children."

"You won't touch them" George hissed through her teeth.

"George I'd watch it right now. Bess was eyeing where their parents sat. There were five deadly looking men being each of them was poised and ready with a knife."

"What do you want from us?" George asked.

"Revenge." It was one word. However, the one word sent shivers down the spines of the people in the room. "Robbie they're here." Sandy walked in leading three men in Italian business suits.

Vanessa turned around. "Who are you people?"

"Oh, we're just going to you to friends. The three girls shared a look between them. They couldn't allow that. They weren't entirely sure what their friends did all the time but they did know there was a reason. "I wouldn't try anything ladies. We still have your parents." One look at their parents revealed knives at their throats.

"Why Robbie what are you doing if you were out you could have started over with a clean slate." George asked.

"Maybe but then I wouldn't have seen you again." Robbie said arrogantly. There was a sound that made him turn and in the next instant a rather short fight broke out. The three Italian suited men just stood their.

"You're going to ruin our suits." One of them tsked as if flicking away a fly.

"Let's go," one ordered and the group was led out the back door.

-Frank-

"What's going on here?" Someone strode into the room. The man stopped at the despair that was revealed on Frank's face.

Frank looked to see a hand on his arm pulling him out of the offices and into one office; shutting the door and closing the blinds. The man's black hair and blue eyes shined with temper. "In all my years that I have known you; I have never seen you lose your cool."

"Nancy's missing!" Frank yelled pacing the floor and running his hands through his hair at the same time.

"Pull yourself together. Sit down!"

"Mr. Nickerson, you have a phone call on line 1."

"Hold my calls." He ordered.

"Frank Hardy you have never given up on anything before and you're not going to do so now. I'm surprised you haven't proposed to her yet."

The surprise look on his face gave his answer. "So you were going to. What happened, Frank?"

"Gray Man's wife was killed." Frank answered.

Ned stood in shock as to what had happened. "How?"

The long story was told before Ned evaluated the situation. "Have we tried checking the cameras?"

**Chapter 12**

Frank paled. They had thought of everything else but that. Ned looked at him, "Frank I gave up my right to her a long time ago. I was upset that I came in second. I wasn't lying when we had that argument. I ruined it even more when I wasn't honest. If she stayed with me I don't think that she would be happy right now. She might have tried to give up everything for me but…" Ned didn't need to explain what he was trying to say.

They had finally come to an understanding with one another and accepted what they each were to said woman. There was a knock at the door. "Sirs, we just received this." The secretary handed Ned the envelope.

"It's addressed to you Frank." Frank opened the envelope only to lose the color that he had just regained.

"Ronald Dunlap isn't who we think he is." Frank said aloud.

-Nancy-

Nancy looked on in disgust. _Why couldn't they continue to torture me? Why did they have to drag him into this? The guy may be a criminal but that didn't mean he deserved anything like this._

"Now, mi Corazon, a scowl doesn't look right on you."

"I'm not your Corazon, your love, your girlfriend or anything else. My name to you is Ms. Drew." She glared at him.

"As you wish Ms. Drew, take me to the headquarters."

"I don't have the code to get in." Nancy answered.

"Ms. Drew, if you value your life I would do as you're told." Nancy may have valued her life but she knew that she'd give her life to protect her country and family.

Nancy led the way to the library knowing some of the business was conducted in there. "The library?" Santiago asked.

Wouldn't that be the most logical place to conduct a business?" She hoped the man hadn't thought to check for things like this?

"Where is the computer?"

"If we did everything by computer then life wouldn't be interesting." She challenged.

Nancy was hoping for a distraction that would allow them to make a move. Nancy heard a grunt as Santiago grabbed her and held her by her throat. "I wouldn't try that if I were you." Nancy looked to the newcomer accepting her acknowledgement. It took a very fast move of stomping his feet and elbowing him at the same time. There was a small ooooff before he let out an exasperated breath. While he didn't let her go it was just the leverage and angle she needed.

Santiago felt the double joined pain. There was a slight relaxation on his arms. A leg kicked in the air knocking him down to the floor. Before he could tighten his grip she flipped over him trying to get away.

Ronald Dunlap was surprised but he used this to his advantage, elbowing the man that held him sharply. "You can let me go now." He ordered. The man wasn't very good at listening either.

Ronald crouched looking at the man turned to walk away only to find himself face first on the floor. "Don't get up." He ordered the man before knocking him out cold.

Nancy was ducking low avoiding a punch to her face. "Thanks but I like my face." She swung her leg out but he jumped over her leg just on time. Nancy was knocked down by someone landing on her.

"Ouch will you get off of me!" She grunted. She opened her eyes to see that Andrew Fairchild had landed on her.

If the situation wasn't more serious Andrew would have laughed at the woman beneath him. "Sorry Nancy." He took a knife out and undid her hands behind her back.

"Duck!" She ordered. As her fist went flying past him.

"You…"

"Watch your language there's a lady present." A voice said behind him.

"Why you…" The man went toward the other with ferocity.

Something hitting him in the back sent him to the ground. They had him handcuffed and immobile. Nancy turned to look at the brown eyes that bored into her with relief. "We found the leak." He whispered trying to pull her close.

"Ahora desearíamos eso." A voice said behind Nancy. "Ella pertenece a mi."

"Yo pertenecer nadie." She answered as she took her and swung it back.

"She's mine." Frank had spun her behind him taking this as a challenge for Nancy.

"Frank…" Nancy started to say before she felt someone punch her side knocking her out.

-Joe and Elayne-

"_No you don't get it. It only has to come in contact with your skin before it will drain the life out of you." _

The words echoed through all of their minds. They were haunting as they went through repeatedly. "Joe Hardy, don't say such things." Amanda Fairchild scolded him.

Joe ignored her while he was thinking a hundred miles an hour. They had to get out of here. "Joe there should be a ladder here."

There were 3 feet between them and the end but he didn't know how heavy the glass is. "We need to push the…"

"…glass over." Elayne finished the sentence.

Joe looked surprised at her. He hadn't had one person to finish his sentences ever but he had no time to contemplate that now. They pushed the glass with Amanda protecting Sam. The glass was heavy. The glass was filling up in the middle quickly and the purple haze was starting to fog.

Amanda when we get this over the edge you must get Sam out of here. If we don't make it then…"

"…we don't make it then he is the one that would be relied upon when the time comes." Joe finished. They understood each other.

"But Elayne, they're next."

"Sam is the future, Sam is a child."

Amanda understood what they were getting at but they were important as well. Amanda was trying to keep the fact that tears were forming her eyes. They had been friends from childhood. There was no time for tears. They had to do what they could.

Elayne and Joe stopped at the last minute. Joe looked at the two women carefully. "Amanda get him out of here. The wind is going to the east." Joe took his jacket off and placed it around Sam's shoulders.

"Joe," Elayne watched, "Amanda take my jacket it will be extra protection." They looked up at the top. "We have to hurry."

They pushed the last of the glass away revealing the edge of the cliff and thankfully the ladder that they had hoped would be there. There were no words said as Amanda quickly started to go down the ladder. Sam followed after his mother with Elayne and Joe going last. Elayne winced as she saw the gas stirring and dissipating in the wind. She hoped that it wouldn't lead to any dangers to anyone else. A good rain would cleanse the air and get rid of it. They didn't need it right now. They needed to get out of here.

Joe stepped off of the ladder to hear Sam begging, "Mama, can we do that again?" He winced at the holes in his shirt and the slightly irritated skin where remnants of the gas had touched.

Amanda paled a little unnoticeable to Sam but shook her head. "No sweetie, we need to get out of here."

"But Mama…." He whined dejectedly.

Elayne looked very pale but was trying not to laugh despite how she was holding her stomach. Joe looked from mother and son to her, "Elayne are you alright?" he whispered. She shook her head no before she passed out.

-The others-

"I wouldn't try anything ladies." They pulled in front of a house, no a mansion, a fortress, or whatever it was supposed to be. One look at their parents showed that they each held a running line of blood from the knife ending at their necks. Vanessa's mother Andrea Bender also had an extra nick on her cheek. There had to be some kind of distraction. Although they walked on a clear path the men were keeping a weary eye on the path. The girls were thinking about a hundred miles an hour. "Ooowww," Vanessa bent over clutching her stomach. The men couldn't leave her behind and they couldn't afford any time loss.

"Let's get going, no fooling around." I can't I'm having a bad stomach cramp." Vanessa gasped.

"You'll move." One of the men pushed her down on the ground. "There will be worse than that if you try anything else."

"She needs her medication," a female voice said through the racket.

"Silence!" The man said. There was an unexpected jab to the man that was holding Ms. Bender. The grip tightened around her while she stepped on the man's instep.

Mrs. Fayne slammed her head against the man's chin and pinched him in a rather delicate spot. "Listen you little…" Something bumped into him knocking them down allowing Mrs. Fayne to roll away.

"Thank you." She looked at Bess's mother and went down. Mrs. Marvin punched the person that had come up behind her friend. Then they were working tog ether as if they had done this before. After a short brief fight the group had taken down the men that had captured them only to hear a click behind them.

"You can let them go now. We haven't finished what we began." Robbie and Sandy MacDonnell hadn't received a scratch but they didn't say anything when they saw movement behind the men.

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you."

-Gray Man-

A sword was drawn, a challenge accepted between the two men. Something old sparked the old camaraderie between the two, the sense of honor and respect that they had once held for each other but there was something new as well. A hatred for what had been done to each other by the other. An acceptance that one wouldn't walk out of this confrontation alive, the knowledge that one would finally finish what was begun over 50 years ago.

To be there would have been a shock to see that the two still gave the customary bow waiting, circling and anticipating the others to make move. When they moved it was quick. They blocked and pushed away. The two men blocked and parried. "You turned your back on her when you betrayed your country."

"That still makes her mine to protect." Michael said.

"She was your sister. There was no wonder that you were able to get in without a fight. What were you there to tell her?"

"I was there to make amends with her. The man that was with me was my guard. She lifted her hand to take something off a shelf and he shot her."

"You used that against me though."

"You killed my lover." Michael Long dodged a parry.

"I was trying to get you. You left our country in jeopardy and scrambling for months."

"They were going to take her away from me."

"Oh how?" By now they each had little nicks that were bleeding.

"They told me that I was going to have to sever my connections with her."

"Idiot you knew that was coming. I warned you when you began your romantic liaison with her. You were only supposed to get information out of her."

"She was supposed to do the exact same thing as I recall correctly." Michael pierced his old friend's side.

"So you were both going to betray your countries and go somewhere else entirely?" Gray Man shot at him from behind.

"Would that have been such a stretch? We both knew how to vanish."

"I would have been the only one to find you. You could have told me that was what you were going to do. You could have told years ago before all of this."

"Why should you care? You had my sister and you wouldn't have stopped trying to convince me to come back."

"Mary cried for months after you left. She put flowers by a picture that she kept in the house once a year for years after that."

"You had to have warned her, told her what I had been doing."

"I couldn't! I didn't think that you would ever come back. I let her have her belief that you were merely in hiding." With each word that was said Eugene hit harder piercing Michael's side.

"You were a fool then, brother." The swords clanging echoed through the house. In a simultaneous moment they spun around their swords piercing through the other's heart. "I'm sorry." They whispered to each other.

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I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. Its summer break and I was working on one of my other favorite activities called reading. Add to the fact that fighting scenes are some of the hardest I've ever come across to write. I'll talk to you guys later. Arigato and ja ne!


	13. Chapter 13

Something hitting him in the back sent him to the ground. They had him handcuffed and immobile. Nancy turned to look at the brown eyes that bored into her with relief. "We found the leak." He whispered trying to pull her close.

"Ahora desearíamos eso." A voice said behind Nancy. "Ella pertenece a mi."

"Yo pertinence nadie." She answered as she took her and swung it back.

"She's mine." Frank had spun her behind him taking this as a challenge for Nancy.

"Frank…" Nancy started to say before she felt someone punch her side knocking her out.

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Amanda paled a little unnoticeable to Sam but shook her head. "No sweetie, we need to get out of here."

"But Mama…." He whined dejectedly.

Elayne looked very pale but was trying not to laugh despite how she was holding her stomach. Joe looked from mother and son to her, "Elayne are you alright?" he whispered. She shook her head no before she passed out.

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You can let them go now. We haven't finished what we began." Robbie and Sandy MacDonnell hadn't received a scratch but they didn't say anything when they saw movement behind the men.

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you."

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"You had to have warned her, told her what I had been doing."

"I couldn't! I didn't think that you would ever come back. I let her have her belief that you were merely in hiding." With each word that was said Eugene hit harder piercing Michael's side.

"You were a fool then, brother." The swords clanging echoed through the house. In a simultaneous moment they spun around their swords piercing through the other's heart. "I'm sorry." They whispered to each other.

**Chapter 13**

"Elayne!" Joe caught her automatically.

No words were needed as they walked out of the park with Elayne cradled into him. The hospital took Elayne immediately. Amanda had already put a c all through to their medic teams that were arriving. "I don't know if she breathed in some of the gas or was bit by those snake things. " Joe was telling them.

"What about Mrs. Fairchild and Sam?" The medic asked.

"They seem to be in good health but I want them tested and screened for everything." Joe ordered them at the same time. I want two guards placed on each of their rooms. No one comes in except our doctors and no one leaves. Oh and place monitors on Elayne Fairchild's window." He winced thinking of her trying to get out the window. She was stubborn and she was just as bad as all the other women that had been in both the Hardy's life. They were always involved far too much in the cases that they took.

There would be no use in going back to the park. There would be nothing left. He would send someone out to check just to make sure but he was going to try to follow up another lead. "Right about…." The phone rang, "now."

"Why, hello Lt. I see you survived. You're just like a cat with nine lives. Go to where this all started 6 years ago."

"I don't have time for these riddles. Get to the point." Joe barked out a little too loud in the hall.

"Sir…" Joe held up his hand and shook his head as he headed out the door.

"I promise that this will be the last. Where it ends it began 6 years ago."

There was a steady dead signal after that. "I'm going to riddle you when I get there."

Joe's mind had started running on overtime. Six years ago they had been indicted into the Network officially. They could only mean one place.

-The others-

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you."

"Well, it isn't Joe Hardy, where's your other half," Sandy MacDonnell said.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you. I have others with me." He motioned for some other agency people to come out.

They took the guns away and were handcuffing the people when Joe wheeled around on the three women. "What the devil are you three doing here?! Don't you know that this is dangerous?! You're walking around in a forest in…what are you wearing?" He took off his jacket and covered Vanessa signaling for someone to cover George and Bess. "Anyways you're walking around looking like that with next to no protection with armed men following you. They could have killed you. Then where would we be?"

"Joe Hardy would you just shut up. We are not Iola." Vanessa said to him.

"You could very well have been." The three women had never seen Joe so mad in their life.

"No but you could have been." Joe shook his head clear of the tears that were going to try to come up.

"Joe, you couldn't have stopped this anymore than we could have." Bess worked at calming him down. "Frank activated the chain when he sent Chet to the safe house. We are only here to help; besides there was a time that you wouldn't have been able to keep your eyes off of a half naked body."

"They took our parents. We didn't think to try to put them in one." George turned to look at the sets of parents. "But we need to get to wherever they were taking us. The rest of us are in danger."

-Fairchild mansion-

"Frank…" Nancy started to say before she felt someone punch her side knocking her out.

The fight led to more noise that Frank wasn't expecting but he didn't have time to acknowledge. The man he was fighting had tried to say that _his_ Nancy belonged to him. Nancy didn't belong to him.

"What's the matter Señor Hardy, are you angry that your girlfriend would give herself to anyone else? You know she is just so much fun to torture."

Frank heard the double meaning behind it strangely though it comforted him because he knew that Nancy wouldn't do that to him. However the man was going to pay for torturing her in unknown and probably lethal ways. Ronald Dunlap would pay twice as much as this one would though. He was supposed to keep her safe. Not that he actually believed that the man would do that. "You'll pay if there is a miscount of hairs on her head." Frank sent a roundhouse kick to the man. "She's mine." Frank was backed against a bookshelf when his hand took hold of something cold. "You won't ever touch her again." Frank informed him as he took a hold of what was the sword from one of the knights that stood in the library.

The fight was soon ended. "Now I want what belongs to me." Ronald Dunlap took a step forward. The group of people turned to see that he had Nancy held tightly in his grip.

"Let her go." Frank still held the sword tightly in his hands.

Nancy Drew looked at the group in front of her. "I can't do that." He answered. Reaching back he took off a mask that had been sticking to his face. The face that now stared at them was the face of a younger Fairchild. "My father wanted to take over the American top agency and one that he had a connection to. I want revenge for his death."

"He brought his death upon himself." Fairchild stepped forward saying.

"You won't be getting revenge." Nancy had quickly stepped on his foot twisting around and elbowing him on his throat where his larynx was causing him to step back and try to get his breath back. She kicked the knife out of his hand while the others swooped down and tied him down.

Frank came over to her and checked the cut that covered half of her neck. "It's alright Frank. I've had worse." Blood was streaming down in droplets all along the cut. Frank didn't see that when he looked in her eyes though. They were swimming and then focusing on one thing even while his hand placed a tissue on the bleeding cut. His other hand pulled her closer to him while he kissed her. He knew she was there; he didn't have to check for that, he knew that she wasn't alright; he didn't have to look for the injuries right now.

The group had finished taking care of Ronald Dunlap and was watching as Frank almost devoured Nancy while he held a tissue to her neck. Nancy's hands were bunching at his shirt. "Let her breathe Frank." Joe whispered behind him.

Frank gave an annoyed growl but pulled away placing his forehead on hers. "I love you Nancy Drew and I want you to be mine forever." He whispered this only loud enough for her to hear. She didn't have time to answer though because Bess and George swooped down pulling her away to check her over.

Fairchild hung up the phone but he knew what Frank had said to the woman and it was about time.

-Gray Man-

Men came upon the house as they had been instructed. It had been more than an hour since he had been left there. The smell that was reeking through the house was blood. All one had to do was follow the smell to find it.

The head man looked at the sight before him. There had been an old fashioned duel here. Not with guns, words, or anything modern. This had been a sword duel. Almost unheard of now and yet these two had fought one and died doing just that. The Catholics of the group did the sign to the forehead and each shoulder while the Christians hung their heads for a moment. The other people that were with them though stared in shock; to die by a sword duel were the most unimaginable thing to them.

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I know it's short but I only have one more chapter to finish after this. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just have had so much fun writing them.**

**Chapter 14**

'_Eugene Gray died the way romantic dreams depict knights in shining armor. He asked for nothing in the world except for what was his and what he had earned. Now he lies beside his recently deceased wife in a lover's caress never to be separated from the other again. He held up the law with more honor and dedication than he could have known he possessed but he did it to keep the streets safe. We wish him a good long rest.'_

_-_

_'We kept the Network safe and the agencies altogether. This is the most top secret agency in all of the United States. I didn't run it by myself as I had Eugene with me almost from the beginning. He was my right hand man but now that he's gone I feel that my time is up. It's time to hand down to you three.' He led them to where his office was._

_'You will have all of the resources at your feet to keep America safe and in some cases the world.' He opened the door and led them to his desk. On his desk were three sets of keys. 'These will get you into whatever buildings that you need to but you will have the authority to go when and where you need. The top key ring has the key to your office and your codes to get in are in these envelopes._

_-_

_-_

_-_

Nancy sighed as she ran her hand down the wedding dress she was wearing. All of this was two weeks ago. A wedding had been pushed through. Everyone had been flown down and Nancy felt like the world was resting on her shoulders now. How did you use all of this power that they had been handed at the tender age of 25, 26 years of age and still hold onto some semblance of a life?

"You're thinking too hard Drew." A low voice whispered into her ear.

"Frank Hardy what are you doing here? You're not supposed to see this dress yet."

"What dress? I promise that I don't see anything else right now." He whispered and placed a soft heated kiss on her lips. "I can't wait for tonight." He was about to pull her into another kiss.

"Frank Hardy, what are you doing in here? Now we have to fix her make up. Joe, why didn't you think to motion detectors on this window?" Elayne turned to him. She was still furious because he had pulled that on her at the hospital.

Joe turned pale at what she was going to do to him later but Nancy and Frank laughed at them. Elayne turned around to see that Frank had pulled Nancy to him once more but he had kissed Nancy on her eyes her nose and moved to her lips. "Now you look like you're ready and you…" he turned to Elayne, "really do have some make up to fix." He left them to get his soon to be wife ready. "Oh and you only have ten minutes." Frank walked out the door with Joe chuckling at his brother.

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I couldn't think of a better way to end this story. I hope that you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing them.


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